Spike and Dru
by Mad Vampire Poet
Summary: A series of one-shots and stories focusing on the best vampires ever, Spike and Drusilla.
1. Spike and Dru

Spike and Dru

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><p>New York City, New York, U.S, 1977<p>

"I want to fly like a bird," Dru said. She stood on the crumbling roof of a mausoleum, overlooking the ancient cemetery. The moon was full, barely touched by the clouds that covered the rest of the sky. Spike stood behind her, holding her around the waist. "How can I fly?"

"Dunno, love. I never tried," He whispered into her ear. She laughed, turning to face him, drawing her sharp nails across his flesh, licking the blood that oozed from the wounds, moaning slightly. Spike closed his eyes and smiled at her. He loved his dark princess, more than anything else in the world. She had beauty beyond the description of mere words, like someone from a fairytale. But what a dark, twisted fairytale that would be! Spike could imagine it in his head. A beautiful vampiric temptress, luring children to the woods to drink their blood, drain them dry. The children that story was told to would be far too terrified to venture into the woods again. On second thoughts, that fairytale wasn't too different from all the others at all. The main difference was the beauty of the villain. Fairytales often seemed to forget that beauty and goodness were not one and the same. Leading to little children believing that if someone looked nice to them, they were worth trusting. Big mistake, kids. Big, big, mistake. Considering that a lot of vampires were sired merely because some vampire came along and liked the look of them, that was an even worse assumption that it sounded. Sure, if you can tell someone's a drug addict by looking at them, then you most likely are better off not trusting them, but you should never judge a book by its cover, and looks could be deceiving.

"Can I fly?" Dru wondered aloud.

"What does Miss Edith say about it?" Spike questioned her. Drusilla appeared to ponder for a minute.

"I'll go get her," She said, hurrying back into their home. Spike sat down on the edge, dangling his legs into the air like a child, waiting for her to come back. She seemed to be taking a while, and a frown crinkled his brow at the thought. But soon enough, he heard her light step dancing behind him on the mausoleum's roof. She knelt down to him, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"She says I can. What do you reckon? If I try hard enough…" She whispered to him.

"Go ahead and try, pet. It'll do no harm," Spike said to her, his lips as close to hers as possible without muffling the words. Dru giggled and drew back quickly, teasingly. She glided to the edge of the roof, arms outstretched, head leant back, staring at the moon, at the absent stars; they might not be there tonight, but she could certainly see them just fine, twinkling like diamonds in the sky, speaking to her, singing. She sang back to them; her voice could never be compared to theirs, she knew, but it was beautiful, nonetheless.

She took a step back, preparing, then sprang up from the mausoleum. And came right back down a moment later, only managing to leap a few feet in the air before landing gracefully on the ground. She looked back up at Spike, crestfallen.

"I can't fly," She told him, pouting, like a little girl. Spike put his cigarette out, jumping down to land at her side.

"Sorry, love, it's not my fault. If I knew how to fly, I'd tell you," He said to her. She sat down on the ground, and lay down among the roses, enjoying the prickling sensation on her skin. She glared at Spike. He honestly didn't know what he was supposed to do; he could hardly tell her how to fly, they weren't in some bad movie, and in the real world, vampires couldn't fly. He thought hard for a moment, crinkling his brow in frustration. Then an idea came to him.

"Hey, I saw these little orphan siblings, street kids, all alone, on, well… the street. Not too small for homeless kids either. Look they'd be just right for eating," He said to her, hoping it would please her. She stopped pouting, at least, and got up, dancing over to him gracefully. She ran a hand through his spiky white hair.

"Show me the little ones. Please?" She said, leaning closer to him.

"Anything for you, Dru," He responded. "_Anything_," Dru smiled widely, grinning like one of the eight year olds she so loved to kill. She took Spike's hand, and they strode off out of the cemetery, looking for all the world like the mundane couple they certainly were not. As they passed through the streets, they did, however, get some stares and whispers. They seemed to have become rather well known in the area of New York in which they lived; something of an urban legend, perhaps, though, urban legend would indicate no truth, and there certainly was a great deal of truth to these so called 'rumours' about them. The finally spotted the children Spike had mentioned huddling in a corner of a street, shivering. Their clothes were torn and dirty, their hair greasy, they eyes frightened, the smallest looking for all the world like a deer caught in the headlights. Drusilla smiled at them as she drew near, kneeling down to face them eye to eye.

"Do you need somewhere to go, my pretties?" Dru asked them, staring at them intently. "We could take you back to our home for dinner. Does that sound nice?" The children – there were three of them, brothers – agreed that it sounded good, even going so far as to smile, unaware of the devilish glint in Drusilla's eye. She and Dru led them back home, Spike seeming (and being) incredibly bored. But he didn't mind. Dru was happy, and that was all that mattered.

It was only when they arrived at the cemetery gates that the brothers realised something was wrong. More specifically, the eldest – who was ten – noticed it. He tried to run, tried to get away, but Spike was simply much too fast for the little boy. He had his delicate little neck broken instantly. This was when the younger ones noticed something was happening. They backed aware from the now fully fanged vampires.

"Ooh, I love it when they run. Builds your appetite chasing them before dinner," Dru said. The frightened children ran as fast as their little legs could carry them, but it was no use. Drusilla pounced on one of them, caressing his face gently with her long nails. He looked back at her with wide eyes, pleading, imploring her to let him go. How sweet! He held his shoulders gently yet firmly, and for a moment, he actually believed she would let him go. And then she sank her fangs into his throat, savouring his screams and the sweet taste of his blood – like chocolate, it was. She dropped him body to the floor, snd turned to her Spike.

"We should give them a little burial," She said. "Maybe hide them in our little house,"

"They'll smell, love. We gotta leave them here," Spike pointed out, reaching an arm around her neck. "Besides – why waste time burying our victims when the night could be spent in much better way?" He kissed her gently, licking some of the blood that remained. As soon as he pulled away, she put a finger to her lips, and pulled him to one side, behind a tomb.

He peered out, immediately knowing why she told him to be quiet. A dark-skinned yound woman was striding confidantly through the cemetery, wearing a leather coat and carrying a stake.

"The Slayer," Spike breathed, his voice audible only to himself and Drusilla. "Well; I think we'll be staying here a bit longer than was planned, my dark princess." He added, in his mind: _I want that coat._

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><p><em>How was that? Good? Bad? Please tell me. I want ways to improve, if that's not too much to ask. <em>


	2. Claudia Part One

Spike and Dru the Second

Sunnydale, December 1997

Spike yawned. Why couldn't he sleep? He gazed at Drusilla, lying beside him. Her hair was spread out around her on the pillow, giving her an ethereal dark halo. She didn't breathe when she slept and that revealed her true nature. She had told Spike many times that he breathed when he slept, and he didn't doubt that it was true. He had never quite lost the habit of breathing. It was strange. But not so strange that he was going to spend hours thinking about it. He wanted to sleep. He was tired. And there wasn't much else he could do in broad daylight. He was sure he was the only one awake in the factory. None of the Annoying One's old minions would be awake, and Drusilla certainly wasn't. It appeared the only company he had was a drained corpse lying limp at the other end of the room. It looked like she was staring at him. He glared back. Yeah, he was definitely tired. He looked at the wall. Dru's dolls. Okay, look away from them. The ceiling. Anything interesting about the ceiling? Nope, nothing. He sighed. Was the sun going down any time soon? He wanted something to do. He got out of bed, making sure to keep the covers over Drusilla. She kept complaining about being cold recently. It must be because she was sick and hardly ate. Spike felt almost guilty about not making her better, but that was stupid for two reasons. One: it wasn't possible to feel remorse without a soul. Two: he really had no idea how to make her better yet. But he was working on it. It had to be possible. If not… he wasn't really sure what he'd do, but you could bet it involved a lot of blood and guts and violence. And killing. Couldn't the forget the killing.

He put on his clothes, and his boots and his coat and stepped outside the room, being sure to to do so quietly. He was being a reckless idiot, he knew, but that was just him. He _was _a reckless idiot. He walked upstairs and opened the door, allowing sunlight to flood inside for a second. He ran out as quickly as he could, feeling the suns heat quite literally burning his flesh. He slid into a drain, landing in the strangely large sewer beneath. It reeked like hell, but at least he wasn't on fire now. He'd be back by sunset, most likely. Until then, he had plenty of time. He yawned again. Damn it, he was tired! He started walking through the stinky sewer. Saw no less than five demons on his way, and one other vampire. Must be how they got around during the day. He came up inside a building. The high school basement it looked like. Well, this could be interesting. As he walked up into the corridor he heard the always annoying sounds of teenagers yapping on to each other about whatever. Clothes, boys, girls, cars, money, celebrity's, random gossip… nothing of interest to Spike. Until he heard her. Speaking about vampires. The Slayer. What was her name again? Buffy Summers. She went to school here. He smiled. This was definetly going to be interesting.

"May I help you sir?" He heard a voice saying behind him, the tone of which really indicated that she was saying something more along the lines of 'Who are you and what the hell are you doing here?'

"Yeah, I'm hungry," Spike said.

"The cafeteria is over that way… What are you doing here, again?" Well, she got to the point quicker than he thought she would. He turned around, a smile growing on his lips.

"Don't mean the cafeteria," He said, switching to game face. He clamped a hand over the woman's mouth before she could scream, and sank his fangs into her neck. Her eyes went wide with fear, then moist with pain… before Spike dropped her body to the floor. They'd find her body later, he couldn't be bothered to hide her. Besides, how unsual could vampire bite deaths be, on the hellmouth? Broad daylight, maybe a bit unusual, but the police here were idiots. Spike waited patiently until the end of class, lighting a cigarette. He was hardly noticed standing out there when the bell rang and all the annoying kids came out. They were all in a desperate rush to get their lunch. And so was Spike.

He grabbed the Slayer as she walked out of her classroom, holding her tighly around the throat. Was he expecting to strangle her? Not really. And he didn't. She turned round in an instand, ready to punch his brains out. He ducked and grabbed her again, slamming her into the wall.

"What are you doing here?" She demanded, struggling to catch her breath.

"I was bored. Couldn't sleep," Spike said, grabbing for her again. She threw him into the lockers on the other side of the corridor, bashing a couple of the doors in. "Bloody hell! That hurt!"

"That was kinda the point…" The Slayer said. Spike growled. "Hey, a chair!" She said, snapping off a leg of the aforementioned chair. Spike got to his feet, snarling at her. She threw the stake over at him. It dropped harmlessly to the floor. Spike laughed.

"What, is that all you got? You've got to be kidding! My long dead grandmother could throw better than-" He was quickly silenced by a Slayer jumping on top of him, grabbing her stake of the floor.

"Didn't anyone ever tell you that evil gloating is a really stupid idea?" She asked.

"Get away from my Spike!" Said a light, high voice from somewhere down the hallway. Spike recognized it immediately.

"Drusilla! Go back, it's not safe here! Come on, Dru, you're not at your full strength!" Spike shouted at her.

"But I wanted to know where you'd gone!" She protested.

"Who's Drusilla?" Buffy asked. She couldn't hear her from down the hall. "She your undead girlfriend or something like that? Seems pretty stupid-" Spike punched her in the gut.

"You do not insult Drusilla!" He shouted, getting up off the floor and kicking Buffy in the face for good measure. She fell backwards into the lockers, but didn't let herself fall over. And if she did, it would be somewhat unlikely that she'd stay down.

"That's it, Spike… Kill her!" Drusilla called from wherever she was hiding. Buffy turned her head. She must have heard her. Perfect opening. Spike hit her around the head.

"Hey!" She whirled around, kicking him. He fell backward. Unfortunately, he fell right into a pool of sunlight. He snarled and screamed – somehow he actually managed to do both at once – and ran back out of it as fast as he could. The Slayer grabbed him as he tried to make a break for it.

"Let him go!" Drusilla whined. Buffy definitely heard that time, but she wasn't about to do what she said.

"Buffy? What are you doing around here, it's lunch time. You should be out eating, enjoying the fresh air," Spike thought he recognised that voice. It was one of her friends. What was he called? Xander Harris. What a stupid name.

"Sorry Xander! I'm a bit busy fighting vampires here!" Buffy called over to him.

"But it's broad daylight!"

"Do you really think I give a damn about that?" Spike asked. "I can attack her any time I bloody want!" He heard light footsteps on the floor, and turned to see Drusilla walking towards the boy.

"If you hurt Spike I'll kill him!" She said.

"Yep, she will! She'll kill the annoying little wanker!" Spike said.

"Hey!" Xander called. "And let go of me!" Even weakened, Drusilla was more than a match for him. Just showed how much stronger vampires were to humans.

"Come on, Drusilla, let's go," Spike said. He was worried about her in her weakedened, sickly state, and neither the Slayer nor the sunlight did anything to sooth his paranoia. "Let the boy go," He instucted. Grudgingly, Dru released Xander from her grasp. Spike grabbed Drusilla, lifting her in his arms, running fast. "This isn't over!" He called back to the Slayer. She didn't make much of a move to go after him. Then again, why would she?

As soon as they were back, Spike burst into the door, slamming it behind him, and slowly relaxed. Drusilla was slumbering in his arms. He smiled. It was just like her to sleep at a time like this. He walked down the hall, setting her down on the bed. He climbed in next to her, amd was asleep within minutes. Strange. He never knew fighting was a cure for insomnia as well.

…

"Spike… Wake up…" Drusilla said. She shook him lightly. Spike groaned, and rolled over, too tired to get up. Drusilla slapped him. "Get up." He still didn't get up. She scratched him across the face.

"Ow!" He said, falling out of the bed somehow, holding his hand to his bleeding cheek. He looked up at Drusilla with an expression that just asked 'What the hell did you just do that for?' He didn't even need to speak. She knew exactly what he meant. She shrugged.

"You wouldn't get up," She said. Spike sighed. "Do you want to stay in bed all night?"

"I was awake most of the day," Spike stated, as if that would make a difference to Drusilla. There were some concept that her diseased mind just could not grasp. Poor Dru. Sometimes, Spike really felt like boiling Angelus alive in a pool of boiling water. Or flaying him. Or setting him on fire. Or decapitating him. Or impaling him with burning pokers. Or disemboweling him. Or any and all combinations of the above. He could hardly imagine what Drusilla must have been like before Angelus met her. Kind of messed up, sure, but a lot better. Maybe the visions would have done something, but not as bad as what had happened… _Wait a second. I'm wishing that Drusilla had got to be left on her own, without Angelus. Isn't that pretty much equivelent to wishing I was dead?_

He forgot about it. It wasn't like he could turn back time. If he could he'd go back to when the Master was human and kill him. Then Darla would have died of syphilis and there'd have been no Angelus to start off with. It was unlikely Liam would get bored enough on his own to become a mass murderer/serial killer/whatever. Of course, it could be possible that another vampire could sire him. There was no Slayer in 18th century Ireland, Spike was pretty sure, so they would have been able to run wild without restraint. Not that there were never hunters, but vampire hunters were never as powerful as Slayers, and they mostly harboured grudges.

"Spike… I'm hungry…" Drusilla complained.

"I'll get you something to eat," Spike said, putting his arms around her. Drusilla passed him something black from the floor. It was his clothes. Why didn't he just sleep with them on? He hurriedly got dressed and walked out the door. He sighed. Why couldn't he figure out how to make Drusilla well? He'd die for her, he would. But he hardly had a way to prove that. He saw his prey not long after he'd left the facotry. A little girl, running. Running from what, Spike couldn't be sure, but she was running from something. He waited a few minutes for the one she was running from to come around the corner. He was skinny, really, but obviously stronger than the child, who didn't appear to be above five. His clothes fit loosely, and at first glance he just looked like a starving homeless man. But Spike knew he wasn't. He could smell the poison in his veins. The guy was a drug addict. Gross. He slammed his against a wall, catching him by surprise. Almost nonchalantly, he snapped his neck, throwing the corpse to the floor. He wouldn't be missed. The child was looking up at him, eyes wide, mouth open.

"You got rid of the bad man," She said. "Are you a hero?"

Spike grinned, revealing his fangs. The girl backed away, frightening. "No, I'm quite the bloody opposite," The girl let out a whimper. Spike picked her up, lifting her over one shoulder easily. She was less than three stone, it was easy enough for even a thirteen year old. Spike carried her back inside to his and Drusilla's room in the factory.

"Ooh, what have you got for princess?" Drusilla said, laughing in a way that resembling cackling but was easier on the ears. Or was Spike just biased?

He set the girl down on the floor. Drusilla grinned wide when she saw her frightened expression. "Oh, you spoil me. She's so young, so pretty…" Drusilla circled the girl, scaring her more.

"Nothing but the best for you, love," Spike said, reaching for her hand. She held it out to him and he knelt to kiss the slender fingers. She turned back to the girl. She knelt down to look her in the eye.

"You're an adorable one, aren't you? What's your name?"

"C-Claudia," The girl stuttered.

"Of course you're Claudia, you look just like her," The girl gave Spike a strange look. "You know, that movie that came out a few years ago, something about an interview… Guess that would make me Lestat. And Angel Louis. And Drusilla… I don't know about Drusilla. But, of course, you haven't seen that movie. It's an R-rated film and little kiddies like you are only allowed to see G's. Or U's. Or whatever you want to call them,"

Drusilla ignored Spike going on and on about movies. She didn't like to watch them anyway. She walked over to the wall and took a doll from the shelf, passing it to Claudia.

"Do you like her? She's yours now," She said.

"Oh, come on, Dru! You don't mean you're thinking of keeping her! I'm not really Lestat! Or David!" Drusilla shot him a glare and he shut up.

"That's a different movie," Claudia pointed out.

"You've seen The Lost Boys?" Spike asked. Claudia shook her head.

"No, but my sister's fourteen and she's obsessed with it. She's shown me pictures of all the characters. I can name loads of them. Sam, Michael, Lucy, Max, Edgar, Alan, Nanook, Thorn, David, Marco, Dwayne and Paul," Spike didn't pay attention to the fact that two of the character she'd mentioned happened to be dogs. "You know, you look kind of like David," Claudia said.

"Your sisters name would be?"

"Alisa," Claudia said. She looked at the doll in her lap. It was blindfolded. It's porcelain cheek was cracked. The hair was tangled. The dress was stained with what looked like blood. She didn't know what to make of all that, and so she simply said: "The dolls ruined,"

"And so will you be," Drusilla said. Claudia looked back up at her. She no longer appeared human. Her golden eyes and fangs were far too much of a give away. She held Claudia back against the bed, and bit into her throat. Claudia filled the air with her high screams. She was scared. Was this lady trying to kill her? But she seemed nice! She'd given her a doll…

"Spike," Dru said, pulling away from the girl. "I'm not strong enough. I need you to do the rest," Spike sighed. It wasn't that he hated doing what Drusilla told him, quite the opposite, provided it wasn't her craziness speaking. But he knew that Claudia would just get in the way. Vampire children were strong, of course, but only around as strong as an adult human. They'd be able to get meals just fine, but if anyone was dead set on killing them they could. The strength difference between them and an older vampire – or a Slayer – was roughly the same as the difference in strength between children and adults. Spike slit open his wrist, and pressed it to Claudia's lips. The cold blood seeped into her mouth, and she bit down, desperate for more. Spike had never quite understood how humans becoming vampires wanted the vampire blood so much. It was pretty disgusting. Still, she was swallowing. And eventually dying. Spike thought it was happening rather quickly, but then he realised how little blood a child would have.

"Is she dead?" Drusilla asked. Spike nodded, getting up. Drusilla walked over to the girl and tucked her into the bed. She looked so small and fragile – she'd never grow any older. Just like the other Claudia.

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><p><span>Author Note:<span> There will be a sequel to this particular chapter, but I won't write it yet. Isn't anyone interested in Claudia? Or her older sister Alisa? (and yes, if you're reading this, PunkVampy, this is you. Or, more or less based on you. Obsessed with Lost Boys and all that. She's even your age!) Any ideas for the next story in this weird little series? Anyone know when I'll stop asking questions?


	3. William's Rebirth

_William's Rebirth_

William awoke drowsily, trying to figure out just where he was and what had happened to him. The first thing he noticed out of the ordinary was that his spectacles were missing. He searched for them, but they were not to be found. Then he realised; he could see just fine. The room wasn't even lit that well, but his vision wasn't impaired in the slightest. He appeared to be in a woman's room. There were curtains of velvet and lace, numerous porcelain dolls on a shelf. Why was he here? What had been the last thing to happen to him…? That woman. Of course. She must have taken him here. She had kidnapped him? No, that couldn't be right… Could it?

"William..." He turned around at the sound of her voice. He didn't know how he could see her, but he could see everything in the room completely clearly. Why was that?

"I'm hungry," He said, forgetting his manners. A smile spread across her face, so seductive and yet so childlike.

"Then we must get you someone to eat!" She said, clapping her hands. She left the room, skipping, her dark cloak flowing out behind her. Did she just say 'someone' to eat? No, no, she can't have. He must have misheard her; she must have said something, not someone. Reluctantly, William followed her out of the door. The sun shone in through the windows in the hallway, and he walked over to it, drawing back in joint fear and pain when he saw his flesh burning. He looked back the woman. She was smiling at him, laughing at his sizzled flesh. What was happening here?

"Come, my William," She said, beckoning to him. "I must have lost track of time. It's not night yet. You'll have to go hungry for now," She walked back into the room and he followed her.

"What's happening?" He demanded as soon as they'd gotten inside the room again. "Why did I burn? The sun… why did it hurt?"

"Silly willy. You're different now… You have power, power beyond your wildest dreams… Not human anymore, William," She was smiling as she said all that, laughing slightly, almost cackling. William was thouroughly confused. What did she mean, he wasn't human? She drew closer to him, and he backed away. She was scaring him again. He had always been so easy to frighten. He backed up to the wall, and then had nowhere to go. She walked closer and closer, so close that he could feel her breath on the skin of his cheeks as she spoke.

"Vampire," She said. "You're a vampire," She whispered it into his ear, drawing away abruptly afterwards, grinning like a lunatic. William had only just realised that she actually was a lunatic. Well, that was just unfortunate, wasn't it? She was apparently the only one who understood him. But she scared him. And she'd turned him into a vampire… Could he even believe that? Vampires. It was absolutely impossible.

"I can't be," He said. The madwoman walked back over to him, wrapping her arms around his neck, smiling and swaying slightly.

"Oh, you are. You are…" She said. She closed her eyes, her head drifting back. Her hair was loose… So interesting to see. Women always wore their hair up in a bun and hid it with a bonnet, curled it, pulled it out with their brushes… William much prefered seeing hair loose and natural.

"I'm a vampire," William repeated, transfixed. "You made me a vampire," He wasn't even sure if he truly awaited confirmation. What was most often associated with vampires? They didn't like holy objects… Well, there were none here to take note of… Eternal life, never growing old… He'd just have to wait to see that one. A stake to the heart… Nobody was trying to kill him. Burning in the sun… He knew he did that. Drinking human blood… His eyes widened with the revelation of what the woman had meant when she had said 'someone' to eat. He was expected to drink blood. He wasn't sure what he thought of that. From what he remembered of the taste, it wasn't disgusting exactly, but it was metallic and hardly pleasant. He didn't want to have to live off that… But was it really living? Vampires were supposedly undead, weren't they? He pressed his fingertip to his neck. There was no pulse. He was definitely dead.

"You killed me," He whispered.

"I freed you," She replied. "I freed you from their spineless mockery… Made you one of us, one with the night, a hunter… I killed you… But I gave you eternal life,"

"Yes," William agreed. "You did. But tell me… what is your name? I don't believe you've told me…"

"Heh heh… Silly Willy… My name… It's Drusilla…" She said. So her name was Drusilla… The name suited her. "Are you tired? I'm tired… I need to sleep…"

"I just woke up… But you can sleep…" William said. Drusilla shook her head.

"Not alone. Not while _you're_ here…" William was confused. She wanted to sleep with him in her bed? But they hardly knew each other! She sank down onto the bed, beckoning to him. He walked over to her hesitantly, just sitting on the edge of the luxurious lace and velvet covered bed. She reached around his waist, pulling him down to her, nuzzling her head in his neck. He was completely confused right now. But she appeared to get to sleep pretty quickly. He was certainly grateful for that. He knew he couldn't sleep now. He had just woken up, after all… He was a vampire. It all seemed far too much to take in.

…

William had not slept all of that day, but his companion had. Drusilla stretched, very much like a cat, when she woke up at sunset. She opened her eyes and looked up at William.

"Did you have a nice sleep?" He asked her. She nodded.

"I dreamed that there were pretty dolls all around, running and playing like children… But it was windy, and it blew their tea party away," Drusilla said. She stepped out of the bed, and began wandering around the room. How interesting that was. Animate dolls…

"I'm hungry…" William said.

"We'll have to take you out then," Drusilla said. She stopped where she was walking, turned around, and headed back towards the shelf for she dolls. She took from it, cradling it in her arms. "But we're not going anywhere without Miss Edith…" She danced over to William, lace gloved hand held out for him to take. He took it, and they walked out of the room. The hallways out here was moonlit now, nothing harming. Drusilla led William outside into the street. It was deserted except for one young woman in a hurry, likely not entirely oblivious to what might befall her. Except she was expecting something much less… supernatural.

"Eat her," Drusilla said.

"How?" William asked.

"You'll know how," Drusilla replied. William walked over to the woman. He wasn't sure how to kill her. He'd seen Drusilla's face go strange… But how did she do that? Even as he was wondering, he felt his teeth sharpen. It didn't seem volantary to him, not yet at least. He grabbed her young woman by the shoulder and she turned to face him, eyes wide and terrified. He felt a strange thrill go through him as he realised that she was scared of him. No one had ever been scared of him before. He could hear her pulse, and as he stared at her he found himself truly hungering for her blood. He held her still – he noticed that he was much stronger now – and bit her neck, his new fangs piercing the flesh so easily he was surprised. The woman screamed a bit, before going limp in his arms. But there was still blood left, and he was determined to drink every last drop. When it was all gone, he dumped her body on the floor. Drusilla reached out to him, and kissed him, licking the blood from his lips. He cradled her head with his hand, tangling it into her dark curls. She was beautiful, like a princess. He withdrew from her embrace.

"Drusilla… There's somewhere I need to go…" He said. He supposed he didn't really need to go… But he wanted to. He longed for revenge against what they'd said to him.

"Ooh, can I come?" Drusilla asked, knowing what he was going to say, he was sure.

"Of course you can, love," William said. "In fact, I might need help…"

"What are you going to do?" She asked. William thought about it. He knew _who _he was going to do something to, but he didn't quite know _what _he was going to do to them… Then the thought came to him.

_I'd rather have a railroad spike through my head than listen to that awful stuff..._

Well, what better way to kill someone than to use their own idea? Better than anything he could ever have come up with…

"Those people who teased me at the party… I'm going to put a railroad spike through each of their heads…"

Drusilla's face lit up, and she clapped her hands and squealed like a small child. "Oh, my William! That's a wonderful idea!"

…

James was just returning home from an evening at the theater, when he noticed that someone was watching him.

"Who's there?" He called out into the night. He was answered only with silence. He frowned and carried on walking down the street. His mind was playing tricks on him, a sure sign that he needed more sleep.

"James," He turned around again at the sound of his own name, but again he was greeted only with the darkness… He stared, trying to discern anything that might have spoken… And there it was. A dark figure, silhouetted against the gaslight.

"Who are you?" He demanded once more. There was no answer. "What do you want?" He heard a chuckle, and the dark figure took a step toward him. He was more than a little shocked to see William, a woman with him.

"What the bloody hell do you think I want?" James was surprised. He had never heard William swear before. When James didn't answer, William went on, pacing back and forth up and down the pavement. "You riducled me, insulted me… And I want payback!"

James couldn't say he wan't shocked. The main reason he and the others had been cruel to William was because they had never believed for a moment that he would retaliate. He had always been such a quiet boy, always sitting alone writing bad poetry… But the way he was acting now was so different… And there was a woman with him!

"What kind of payback?" James asked. William smiled in a way that was so different from the way he usually appeared. He held up his hand, revealing something shiny and metallic that caused the light to reflect of it. A railroad spike. James had a horrible sinking feeling. "You can't mean to-" He started, but found himself unable to carry on speaking. William laughed.

"You know what I find strange? I killed that woman earlier, but I felt nothing. Well, I felt something all right, but it sure as hell wasn't remorse! I _enjoyed_ taking her life, drinking her blood…"

"Drinking her…"

"Blood. I'm a vampire now. Drusilla here made me one," William said, gesturing to the woman beside him, who was, evidently, Drusilla. James laughed out loud. He didn't know what it was, but something had clearly caused William to become a madman. Perhaps he was simply drunk, but he was acting even more like a deluded fool than normal, if there had ever been a 'normal' for William.

"You're actually going to use that aren't you?" James asked, pointing to the spike William was still holding. He grinned, flashing fangs.

"Oh, you bet I'm going to use it," He said. He took another step forwards, pushing James down to the ground. James yelped out, terrified. William laughed. He raised the spike above James's chest and stabbed him, but not deep enough to kill him immediately. Just to cause pain. Maybe this was a little disproportionate, but William was having fun and he wasn't about to stop. He kept stabbing almost randomly until the man was dead.

"One down," He said.

* * *

><p>Did anyone like it? I think I wrote this one pretty quickly. There will be more on Claudia at some point, I promise. Please review if you like it, or think there is something really bad about it (other than Spike being evil, but if you didn't like that, why read this in the first place?).<p> 


	4. Drusilla's Soul Part One

_Drusilla's Soul: Part One of Three_

Drusilla

I look at the terrible sight before me, filled with an emotion I cannot name… Can't name it, can't name it because I haven't felt it in so, so long…. But it is guilt. I remember it from long ago, so long ago it is as a story… But it happened. When I wasn't like this. When I was an innocent. But he ruined that. I should let him say sorry, but I know I can never forgive him. Angelus. My Angel, he ruined it all. I could have been happy without him, but I'm left to feel like this, all alone…

I fall to my knees, gasping. I whimper softly. There's no point in screaming, though that is what I feel like doing. I will be heard by no one. Everyone in this building is dead. I killed them all myself. There are tears in my eyes; I don't bother to wipe them away as they roll down my pallid cheeks. They taste salty; so like the blood I have relied on all these years. I bang my slender fists against the wall, not being surprised when the stone begins to crack after a while… I'm strong… But that strength… it's not pure. I'm an evil thing, evil… I'm horrible. What have I done? I can feel it all now, everything. I'd got better for a while, but now I'm worse again. Worse than ever before. There's blood on these hands of mine, just like in the play… Lady Macbeth, driven insane by her own remorse… I never thought she would remind me of myself… or perhaps it is the other way around? It doesn't matter, not to me, not now and not ever. It won't matter. I won't matter. I'm a terrible, naughty girl. I should be punished. I believed, I truly did. I never meant to be bad, but I was… My Angel and my Spike must have felt like this for so long… How? How can they endure it? I turn to face the corpses… I cry out and look away… Their bloody faces mock me, bring back that cursed emotion… I don't want it, I want everything to leave me, just let me be! I will perhaps pray; but God will not hear my voice. I am not human. I am below the lowest of the low… I never wanted to be a devil child!

…

Spike

I stare out the window of the plane, hoping it will take off soon. Angel called me. Said there's someone I might want to see. Never even mentioned who. But here I am, sitting in the plane, about to go on a flight to L.A. Why have I come, if I don't even know where I'm coming to? I don't bother thinking too much about all this crap. I came because I came. Maybe I was bored. I reach into my pocket, wondering if there's anything in them. No lighter and no cigarette's, I'm well aware of that. Stupid no smoking airports. Maybe it is a good thing. I mean, if the humans smoke, they get bad lungs and they die, and if you can't tell, that's bad. They're basically suicidal. But to me not being able to smoke is nothing more than an annoyance. I'm sure a lot of smokers agree with me here. The buzz of voices around me is becoming wearisome. And I'm starting to sound like an idiot, think like an idiot, whatever. And I've found something in my pocket! Only good thing that's happened today. I just remembered I had an MP3 player. I put it in my ears, letting the wild noise of the Sex Pistols drown out all the stupid people. Oh, how I hate public transport. Times like these that I wish Angel was still in control of Wolfram and Hart's L.A branch. Could have just sent a private jet, come himself if he had to. But now Team Angel are back in that old hotel. What was it called? Hyper something. Nothing to do with being hyperactive though. Hyperion? Yeah that's it, the Hyperion Hotel. Not that there's many left. Wesley and Gunn both died in the battle with the evil lawyers. Illyria only stuck around because of Wesley. She wanted to fight the good fight, keep his memory alive. So, she and Angel set up shop in the Hyperion Hotel, back to helping the helpless. And now I'm following. Maybe I'll stay. You never know, it could be quite nice there.

…

Couple hours later, the plane is landing. I sigh, somewhat glad that I'm finally going to be free of this torture. Okay, maybe tortures a little harsh… nope, it's not. Like I said before, I hate public transport. Even more than I hate Angel. I wonder once again why I decided to come here. What – well, who – is waiting for me when I get there? The plane lands with a jolt and we come to a stop. Finally. Almost eargerly, I get my things together and leave. There are clearly way too much people, all are pushing and shoving to get out of the bloody plane. Wonder if any of them actually have places to go, if they're on holiday or what. Not that I care to much. Off the plane, I grab my suitcase, walk outside and search the airport car park. Angel said he'd pick me up, since, you know, I don't actually know where the Hyperion Hotel is. I see the car and walk over to it.

"What took you so long?" Angel complained as I sat down next to him. He'd been drumming his fingers on the steering wheel, but as soon as I sat down he put his foot on the accelerator, not even giving me time to put my seatbelt on. Not that I'd been going to anyway, but…

"So you're blaming me for the plane being delayed?"

Angel said nothing.

"Yeah, because of course everything is my fault, even when it doesn't make sense," I say. Angel still isn't saying anything to me. "What's up mate? Somethings got you acting even more broody than normal. Mind telling me what it is?" The answer Angel gives surprised me.

"Drusilla," He says. I don't know what he means. Drusilla? How has she made him depressed? Last time I checked she was off… actually, I don't have the slightest bloody clue where she's been. Then I remember why Angel called me. He said there was someone I might want to see… Could it really be Drusilla? Why? I don't bother wasting too much time thinking; sure way to make my brain hurt, that. Instead I stare out of the window, watching the scenery go by in colours and blurred shapes as Angel speeds to the hotel.

Finally, we arrive and I rush out of the car, leaving Angel to follow behind me. I enter the lobby to wait for him. There's a familiar scent in the air… Too faint to tell whose, but I can guess. Angel walks in, having locked the car.

"So, what am I here for then?" I ask him. A really weird expression comes across his face.

"Later. I'll tell you later. Pick a room. I'll bring some blood upstairs in a while," Angel says. I shrug and walk up the staircase. For a while it's quiet; Angel's not saying anything. But when I actually reach the first floor I can hear Illyria. Not sure what she's doing. Playing video games, maybe beating up a piece of furniture. I just walk into the door nearest the stairs and slump down onto the bed. I look around. Boring place, really. Old hotel I guess, since there's no T.V. I open my suitcase, wondering if there's anything in there. Oh, look. Ten dollars. Use that to buy a pack of cigarette's, I will. T-shirts, jeans, spare jacket, spare boots… A book. I shrug. Better than nothing, though I don't read much these days. I read the title from the cover: Northanger Abbey. Not exactly my favourite book, but good nonetheless. I am just at the bottom of the first page, reading of the many flaws of Catherine Morland, when there comes a knocking at the door.

"What is it?"

"I brought you some blood. You can't have eaten in a while, unless you somehow managed to sneak pigs blood through customs," Angel says from the other side. I get up and open the door, grabbing the cup of blood and going back to the bed without a word. I pick up the book and carry on reading. But Angel hasn't left.

"What?" I demand.

"What do you say?" He asks. I sigh.

"Thank you. Now leave me the hell alone," He leaves. I carry on reading, forgetting about the blood until about an hour later, by which time it is cold. I swallow it, almost gagging. Why do I do that? I put the book aside and start to pace the room. What have I been brought here for? What was Angel saying about Drusilla? If he expects me to kill her, he's having a laugh. There are people I won't ever kill and Drusilla is one of them. And why isn't there a T.V in this room? Then again, Drusilla is an evil murderer, and she _does _cheat on her boyfriends… Not that I'm saying that's worse… Definitely not worse. Nope. In no way worse.

I grab my money and head outside. Angel doesn't even look up from whatever work he's doing when I go, let alone try and stop me or demand to know where I'm going. I walk out, he leaves me alone. Simple as that. I walk on down the street, go into the nearest open shop and buy some cigarette's and a lighter. I light one as soon as I get outside. That's better. Seems so strange that I haven't had a cigarette for a good several hours. Guess that's what happens when you've been smoking for over a century. Rather than going straight to the hotel, I decide to walk around for a bit. Maybe take a look at the new Wolfram and Hart. See if my old apartment is still here, with those coats from the evil law firm. Yes, I'm focusing on the coats. Who gives a damn?

Wolfram and Hart is certainly the same as I remember it. But what about the apartment?

I see as soon as I get there that the place is mostly rubble, though almost everything inside is intact. I grab a couple of the coats from the broken wardrobe. Could be useful to have spares. You know, in case the one I'm wearing blows up. Finally, I head back to the Hyperion Hotel. It's quite a long walk from here to there, but I really don't care. It's actually quite nice to walk around town alone for a bit.

When I walk inside, Angel doesn't notice my presence and I walk straight up to my room. I yawn. Can't I do anything that makes sense? Really, a vampire yawning. How weird can it get? I don't bloody need oxygen… I put the coats in the wardrobe and lie back down on the bed. I'm thinking about strange things, I guess. Maybe I'm worried. No, I can't be. What do I have to be worried about? And yet, there's this little voice inside my head saying I should be very, very scared. Guess I'll know tomorrow.

…

Angel

I feel like I've been working way too hard lately. But I need to work hard. So much had happened… And with Drusilla… I need to find out how this happened, and Illyria won't be any good, no offence to her. So I brought Spike here. Don't know if that's quite the thing I should be doing… Spike might just have a nervous breakdown. But he's definitely going to be more help than Illyria. He actually cares about Drusilla. I don't. I mean, I don't want her to die, but I don't actually care about her. I don't love her. I was completely obsessed with her, but I never loved her, or even Darla. My only loves were Buffy and Cordelia. Spike loved – and still loves – Buffy, but Drusilla will always be in his heart, even though he might deny it. She's the one who took him away from his life as a human… A sire will always be someone special to you, even if you kill them, even if you hate them as well, you'll have some kind of feeling for them, some kind of twisted affection, even if it's not love… I have never felt love without a sould. Neither have Darla or Drusilla. But Spike… In a way, Spike is by far the best of us. And I'm not ever going to say that to his face, but it's true. Even without his soul, he was perfectly capable of loving first Drusilla and then Buffy. When Spike was bad, he was horrible. But if he wants to, he can be good. He has a choice. Maybe that's why hate him so much. And because he was – and, I guess, always will be – competition in my eyes. I never saw it, but he was always searching for approval. Drusilla's, mine… and sometimes even Darla's. Spike likes people to like him. Love is, to be honest, one of his main motivations. That and fighting. Love and fighting. How strange.

"Ow!"

The suns rising. It just burned my hand. I need to go upstairs. That would probably be a good idea. Sleep. That seems like a foreign concept to me.

…

Spike

I wake up just at sunset, early for me, really. I have a stupid habit of sleeping in. I wake quickly, though, something that being a vampire comes in handy for. Angel is already knocking on my bloody door!

"What do you want?" I ask him.

"Get ready, we're going out," Angel said. I wanted to go and hit him, but he'd left already, bloody bastard. I just wanna sleep!

So I crawl out of bed, do as Angel tells me. Stuff my pockets with useless stuff. A stake, a lighter, that MP3 player, pack of cigarette's, some blood… Okay, so two of those items are useful. I guess that's a good thing, right?

I hurry down the stairs, grabbing a packet of crisps. Might be a vampire, but that doesn't mean I don't like junk food.

"So, where are we going?" I ask Angel.

"Get in the car," He says. Okay, don't answer my question then, you annoying bastard. I sit in the passenger seat of the car. Angel sits down and starts driving, without speaking. I open the crisp packet and start eating them extra loudly, just to annoy him. But he doesn't seem bothered by me at all, which is rather unusual. He seems plenty bothered, just not by me. He's staring straight ahead, not looking at anything he doesn't need to. His fingers are drumming impatiently on the steering wheel at every red light, as though he can't wait to get wherever we're going. Finally, we stop. Outside a blood church.

"Why the hell are we here?" I ask.

"I told you. There's someone I think you want to see. I don't know… Maybe she'll like you better…" Angel says. Yeah. Because that makes perfect sense, doesn't it? I get out of the car, and lean against the wall, lighting a cigarette and putting it in my mouth.

"Put that out," Angel says.

"What the bloody hell for? I like smoking!" I protest. "Been at an airport all day, remember?"

"I don't care. Just… Put the damned thing out," Angel walks up to the door of the church, but doesn't open it. With much reluctance, I extinguish the flame of my cigarette on the wall, dropping it to the ground. I'll pick it up later. When I enter the chruch after Angel, I'm not immediately surprised by the sight. All I notice at first are the bodies all over the place. The entire church congregation, it looks like. But then I see the crying woman, and I am shocked. She's the last person I expected to see.

* * *

><p>Is that a cliffhanger? This story featured a good Spike, which some may not like... I guess in a way it also features a good Dru... But if you don't like it, go read something else. I hope you do like it though. Reviews are apprieciated, they show you've taken time to read it... I have lots of reviews so far, in my opinion, so thank you everybody...<p> 


	5. Drusilla's Soul Part Two

Spike and Dru: Drusilla's Soul: Part Two of Three

* * *

><p>Drusilla<p>

I don't look back as they enter the church. I know them both well enough to recognize them by scent. Tears are streaming down my cheeks. I don't want Angel to see me cry… But that is just one reason I have for not crying, and I have many more reasons to cry… So I don't stop. I let the tears flow freely and pour down my face, continuing to taste the saltiness. It's not pleasant. I don't care.

I can still see them. My family. I can still see them right before they were killed. See the fear in their eyes, the blood on their bodies, the horrible corpses… I can hear them, too. I can hear whimpers and frightened whispers and piercing screams of pain and… and…

I try to keep quiet, but I'm not doing a very good job of it and I can't help but fail. Angel! He's been a very bad boy… I shouldn't be here, and he knows it. I should have died a century ago, of old age. No one can escape death. They were never supposed to. Angel shouldn't have done this to me; he should have let me be… He should be dead to. He should have been dead before I was born. And my Spike… He should be dead also. We should all be dead. My Spike and my Angel have been very naughty boys… They should be punished. So should I. Angelus, my Angel… What has he done to me? I feel like I could cry until there were no tears left and not feel any better than I feel now. It's torment, torment!

I hear footsteps. But it's not Angel who's coming to me. He never cared for me, never loved me… The closest he came was a twisted obsession. Oh, he regrets what he did to me, and even pities me, but he'll never care. He still thinks of me as a monster. But he doesn't even see that she was the monster _he _created. I'm not her. Not now, not anymore. I refuse to be like her. I won't be like her, ever again. I clasp my hands together and mutter my prayers…. I know I won't be heard, but it's all I can do…

…

Spike

As I walk to her, I still can't believe my eyes. It's Drusilla, it's really Drusilla. And she's crying, and praying. I've never seen her pray before. In fact, I've never seen any vampires pray before. If they had been religious in life, then they abandoned that religion when they joined the dead. Personally, I had never been able to understand religion, even when I was human. My mother had been dreadfully religious, and made me go to church every Sunday in the bitter cold. I thought it was irrational to believe in a god. Always doing the different thing.

I kneel down beside Drusilla.

"What's wrong?" I ask her. "Why are you crying?" She turns away from me and doesn't answer. I'm not actually surprised. We've hardly been on the best of terms as of late. I stroke her hair, pushing it back behind her ears. It has blood on it. Everything in this room has blood on it. I know it was Drusilla who did it, but I can't bring myself to care, really. She's not in her right mind. She never was. She is crying… And she's praying…

"Drusilla," I whisper to her. She jumps and turns around. I see fear in her eyes, and I wonder if she even recognizes me. And if she does, I wonder why she's scared. I've never hurt her. Not on purpose, at any rate. In fact, I've probably hurt Buffy more… Actually, I _have_ hurt Buffy a lot. We used hurt each other all the time. Years ago now, but back then… Bloody hell, I was so pathetic. Hurting the girl in my love for her… Yeah, I don't understand people. Didn't help that I hated her too. And she hated me. Loved me too, but never admitted it until it was too late. Back in 2002, we were basically killing each other without ever actually trying to kill… Killing in a metaphorical sense, you see. Neither of us felt good about it…

"It won't leave me," She whispers. I feel like crying myself, seeing her face in that state it's in now. Her tears have left tracks down her cheeks, her lips are shaking and I know she's not cold. Her mouth is stained with blood, smeared further around her face by her hands. I remember there was once a time when I would have found that to be attractive. Now I just find it disgusting. I reach out to her, caressing her cheek, smearing blood onto my own finger. She flinches, but doesn't try to run away.

"What won't leave you? What happened? Tell me that, love, tell me," I whisper to her. She draws closer to me, throwing her arms around my neck. She nuzzles her head against my shoulder, crying onto me. I let her.

"_They _won't leave me," Drusilla says. She whispers it, very quietly, like she is afraid of someone hearing. "They keep coming back… into my mind… won't leave me alone," Drusilla says. She whispers right into my ear. She's sobbing still, even as she speaks. But I notice that she's trying to be quiet. I don't want her to think she has to be. I don't care if she's loud or quiet… What I care about is how she feels, which is clearly not good.

"Who are _they_?" I ask her, trying not to cry myself.

"Them. Mummy. And Daddy. And all my sisters and brothers. And my little niece," Drusilla says. I'm filled with rage when I realise what she means. Angelus. She's crying about him… I smile slightly; maybe my sire is saner than I thought. But that smile fades quickly. I turn around, glaring. Right at Angel, who's still standing in the doorway.

"What happened?" I growl. And I mean growl, fangs and all. "What the bloody hell did you do to her?"

"Nothing." Angel says. He's telling the truth. "Well, I killed her family about one and a half centuries ago, but…"

"Then what happened?" I ask him. He looks away, turning and walking the perimeter of the church. The place is small, but is designed to look almost like a mini version of a Gothic cathedral. Angel has plenty to look at other than me as he walks. He stops walking a couple of meters away from me and Dru.

"I don't know…" He says. "I found her here, about three days ago… I honestly had no idea what to do with her. I was going to stake her… But then I thought of you. I thought maybe you could take care of her, make her feel better, while I tried to find out…"

"So she's been here three days, has she? Well, that's a little odd, seeing as these corpses don't seem to be quite that old," I say to him. "Been switched with Angelus, have you? You let them die…"

"Spike, I think you know how the curse works," Angel says. I'm confused.

"Um… yeah. Moment of perfect happiness, soul goes boom," I say.

"Exactly. What reason would I have for perfect happiness? Everyone is dead!" Angel shouts. Drusilla whimpers, and I glare back at Angel. He sighs, clearly fed up. I haven't the slightest idea what he's fed up with, of course.

"Good point. You know, Angel, for a loner, you sure hate to be alone," I say to him.

"I'm not a loner!"

"You just keep telling yourself that," I say, turning back to Drusilla. Her eyes are still pouring out tears like a waterfall, crying that river of tears from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Of course, it's certainly not wonderland Drusilla has gone to. Somewhere different, somewhere darker… A place where nobody dies, because that would be a blessing. Instead forced to suffer through all of eternity.

"Why is it you only blame Angel?" I ask her. She looks at me in confusion. So I carry on talking, trying to explain to her. "For what happened to you, I mean. You only blame Angel. When it's Angelus, you love him…" Realising what I mean, she shakes her head.

"Not anymore… He was family. We were perfect. Then the mean little gypsies came and gave him a soul… He left us all alone. He wasn't ours anymore. He betrayed us…" Drusilla pauses, seeming to realise something, a frown coming across her face. That frown turns to a look of total panic as she stands up and backs away from me. She whimpers, clutching her head in her palms.

"What is it, pet?" I ask her. She shakes her head.

"No, no, no! It's all wrong! It's all wrong!"

"What's wrong?"

She doesn't answer me immediately. She begins to walk around the church. She stands straight, limbs stiff and tense. She looks as crazy as she is, possibly even scary to casual onlookers if there were any. But I see easily how delicate she is. Drusilla has never been strong, mentally. That's how Angelus could do that in the first place. She was always fragile, always depending on others. Poor girl saw things that weren't there, that were yet to come, in others brains… And then that bastard came along and slaughtered her family. So she came to depend on another family… One that loved her more than her real family had. But they – _we_ - just happened to be pure evil.

"Everyone… all of you betrayed me…" It truly disturbs how similar her voice sound to singing. I don't know what to say to her.

"I didn't mean to, love," I say. I think I'm telling the truth. But I can't be sure… Oh, bloody hell! When did my life get so bloody complicated?

"Doesn't matter!" Drusilla says. Her voice is high, rising in volume. She's trembling, and I so long to hold her close and comfort her. But I don't even know what's wrong. I know it's not just what Angel did. That's some of it, but not all. She's keeping something from me. And I need to know what it is. It's something big. I don't get that from her behaviour; Drusilla has a tendency to overreact to things and worry about trivialities for days on end. I just… I guess I just kind of _feel_ something. But she's the psychic on, not me. Then again, we were together for about 118 years…

"What else is wrong, Dru?" I ask her. I don't expect an answer and I don't get one. She just stands over there at the other end of the church, not looking at me, like I'm some disgusting _thing_.

I turn to Angel.

"Tell me what happened," I say. He swallows. Yeah, I'm pretty sure this is big news. He seems so nervous…

"Her soul. She has her soul."

I'm shocked.

So shocked, I am actually speechless. I can't think of _anything _to say. This can't be happening. Maybe the apocalypse – the final one – is coming at last. I can never shut up, and now I don't know what to say. What the bloody hell is happening to me?

Okay, enough of that little melodramatic episode. What about Drusilla? A soul drove me insane at first… And I wanted it. She's already insane… Hey, maybe it made her sane. And Angel… Well, he moped for a hundred or so years. Really, I can't imagine that. The guy is so depressed when he's alone… It's unbelievable, it really is.

I turn back to her. I don't know what to do or say. I can almost imagine it. The guilt building up from so many people she killed, finding her even in her sleep, haunting her dreams. I can imagine that. Because I experienced it. I felt that very same thing for myself, and I can testify that it is not at all pleasant. It's horrible. It's one of the worst things to ever feel. Guilt is an almost useless emotion sometimes. For me and Angel, it was good, I guess, and for Faith too. It motivated us to be better, made us realise what we'd done… But some will not want to redeem themselves. They'll just… For want of a better word, mope. Like Angel did until Whistler came along. Like I'm sure Drusilla will. No offence to her, and all offence intended to Angel, but she's not quite what you'd call sane. Way I hear it from her, though, seems she was already unstable, with the visions and a family life that wasn't exactly great. Plus, she does see some things that aren't there at all, and never will be. That doesn't really make up a good recipe for sanity now, does it?

I look back at Drusilla. She's cowering in the corner, swaying from side to side, holding the sides of her head tightly, looking so tortured and worried, I truly wish I could help. But I don't know how, I honestly don't.

"Why don't we just stake her?" I ask. Angel gives me a funny look.

"Doesn't sound like the kind of thing you'd say," He comments. Probably true, that. I guess I'm not quite being serious. And what if she went to hell? Then I'd probably kill myself, too. Sometimes, I really wish I could hate Drusilla. But I can't. I'll always love her, no matter what she does. Bloody hell, even if she killed everyone on the planet, I'd still love her. After all, it's Angel's fault, not hers.

"What are we going to do, then?" I ask Angel. I walk over to one of the pews. I push away a dead body before sitting on it. Angel walks over and sits beside me. On top of the body, not that he cares.

"I don't know. I really don't know," He said. "We're all about second chances. Me, you, Andrew, Willow, Faith… But really, do you think Drusilla could ever be better?"

"I don't see why not, if she became sane first. _That's _where the problem lies, my friend. And it's all your fault," I tell him.

"I know," He says. We sit in silence for what seems like at least an hour. Probably about ten minutes, in reality. Reality. Do I know what that is? Does anyone know what that is? For all I know, Drusilla could be the one of us who knows the most about reality. _We _could be the crazy ones. She is psychic, so maybe she just sees everything better than us.

"We should take her back to the Hyperion," I suddenly say. It actually freaks me out, just a little, to hear my voice after that deep silence that was pierced only by the disturbing little whimpers Drusilla makes when she's upset. "We should take her back there, so she won't feel alone. She might not get any better, but it's worth trying. It's got to be better than keeping her here. She'll go nuts! I mean, she's already nuts, but… She'll go nuts-er,"

"Maybe that's not a good idea. Illyria-"

"It's the best idea we've got. Bloody hell, it's the _only_ idea we've got! We'll think of something else later. Actually, _you'll _think of something else later. I'll find out who did this and tear them limb from limb,"

…

Drusilla

I stare out of the window. I don't want to go. I want to stay in the lovely little church. But it is nice – if a little strange – to see my boys getting along. They don't do that very often, but I wish they would. They're concerned about me, they care about me. It's like we're a family all over again… I smile, grinning in such a way that Angel obviously doesn't like, judging by his face. But the smile soon fades. I cry out. There's something inside my head, something happening but not. I feel faint. I can feel Spike's arms around me, holding me close. But I can't see him. I see something terrible. It's right before my eyes, but I know I'm not there. There's a dark room, and something moving inside. A little boy, running. Bleeding. A man walking after him, holding a knife. The boy runs to the door, but it is locked and won't open. The man cuts his throat. The blood spurts everywhere and soaks the floor. It goes into a circle. A glowing circle. The man's a witch. A bad witch.

All of a sudden, it's gone, it's all gone. I'm sitting in a car, Spike holding me, Angel driving, the two of them almost getting along. But I can't smile now.

"Drusilla," Spike says. He brushes my hair out of my face. "What happened, love? Did you have a vision?" I nod slowly.

"I saw a boy. He was sacrificed. It made the stars sing…"

Angel and Spike look at each other. I know they want to stop this. I don't know if they can.

* * *

><p>Is Drusilla in character? I ask because she's such a hard character to get right. I may not be perfectly normal, but I'm not quite as batty as Dru, believe it or not!<p> 


	6. Claudia Part Two

_Spike and Dru_

_Claudia: Part Two_

…

Spike woke up before sunset that night. He woke to the sound of crying. He was confused for a minute, before remembering the little girl they'd turned.

"Claudia?" He called. "That you making all the noise?" There was no answer but the continued crying. Spike got out of bed and looked around the room. Claudia was sitting on the floor, banging her tiny fists against the wall. Spike grabbed her around the waist and picked her up.

"What's wrong, Claudia?" He asked. He was beginning to grow impatient. Why did he let her Dru turn her? A little kid was only going to a nuisance. But he could never refuse Drusilla…

"I'm hungry!" Claudia whined.

"You'll have to wait until the sun sets," Spike said. "We can't go out till then. Didn't your sister tell you that?" Claudia nodded. "Then be quiet," Claudia stopped crying. Spike sighed. He was sure there was something better he could be doing than trying to calm down a vampire child, but he couldn't think what it was. Trying to kill the Slayer… sounded promising. But he _did _need to actually leave the factory for that, which he couldn't currently do. Well then, he'd just have to sit with Claudia for a while. He turned his attention to Drusilla for a moment, his gaze softening. She was lying under the covers. Her eyes were closed, her dark hair swirled around her head, looking almost black in the darkness. Her fragile and slender body was as still as the dead when she slept. Spike smiled, wondering how she could have carried on sleeping with Claudia's cries assaulting her ears.

…

Alisa Morgan had just returned from school, late because she had detention. For the third time that week. She went into the living room, looking for her sister. She wasn't there.

"Claudia? Are you there?" She called. She didn't get an answer. She looked all over the house, but Claudia was nowhere to be found. Alisa was getting worried. Where could her sister be? She dug around in her school bag for her mobile and dialled in Claudia's number. She had a phone with her all the time, not a very good one though. Actually, it was Alisa's old phone. The phone was picked up by a man Alisa didn't recognise. That wasn't a good sign.

"Who's here?" He asked.

Alisa didn't know what to say. This man might be dangerous. "Who the hell are you?" She said.

"Spike. You Alisa?" The man – Spike, apparently – asked.

"Yeah… How the bloody hell do you know my name!"

"Your sister told me," Spike said. So that guy did have her sister.

"What have you done with Claudia!" Alisa demanded.

"Why don't you come find out? She wants to see you,"

"Where are you?"Alisa demanded, unable to think rationally.

"That old abandoned factory. You know the one?"

"Yeah,"

"Then come see little Claudia," The man named Spike hung up the phone. Alisa didn't know what to do. Should she go and get her little sister? But there might be a trap… She decided to risk it anyway. What was the worst that could happen? It wasn't like he was going to be a vampire or anything…

…

Then sun had still not set after half an hour, and Spike was growing very impatient. He briefly considered staking Claudia, but decided against it. After all, what would Dru think of him if he did? She be very, very upset… And he didn't like it one bit when she was upset. It made him upset and angry, which made her more upset, which made him more upset and angry… Therefore it could never be good.

At least Claudia had given up crying. She was content playing with her doll, for now. He heard someone enter the building and caught the faint scent of human blood… Claudia's sister, of course. Alisa.

"Hello? Claudia?" Alisa called. Claudia's face lit up when she heard the voice, and she rushed out of the room. Spike leaned out of the doorway and watched her. He saw Alisa struggling to lift her now abnormally-strong-for-her-size little sister. Vampire children were of about equal strength to the average adult human man, maybe even stronger.

Claudia was sniffing the air, and Spike knew right away what it was she was smelling. Her sisters blood, rushing through her veins like a river full of life...

"Er… Alisa? It might be a good idea to put her down," Spike said. Alisa did so, but she gave Spike a confused look.

"Why?" She asked. But before Spike could even start to answer, Claudia bared her fangs at Alisa, and dived for her throat. Spike rushed towards her, picking up the snarling vampire as though she were no stronger than a regular child. Which, to him, she wasn't.

"That's why," Spike said. Alisa stared at her sister, in disbeleif mingled with horror and shock. Her heart was pounding in her chest and Spike could smell her fear… That was definitely not helping keep Claudia under control as the small girl's stuggles grew ever more desperate. Spike once again considered killing her, and her sister too.

"She's a… Is she… Is she a vampire?" Alisa asked quietly. Spike nodded.

"Yep. She's a vampire, all right. And she's hungry. We've got to get her something to eat, but I don't assume she'd want to eat her sister," Spike said. Alisa obviously didn't like that thought either, judging by her expression. "If only you were younger. You could go fetch a kid from the park or something… Are you just going to stand there all day long, then?"

Alisa only just seemed to have realised that she'd been standing doing nothing except shivering. "No. I mean… no. No, I won't. It's um… it's cold out here."

"Well, it's no warmer in any of the rooms, unfortunately," Spike said, carrying Claudia into his and Drusilla's bedroom. Alisa followed. "Since, you know, we're kind of dead,"

Alisa nodded. She was bored and scared, though mostly the last one. She was here with vampires. Real vampires! It seemed pretty awesome, but as that thing with her sister proved, these vampires were very likely to just rip her throat out and suck her blood. She didn't even know it was possible to be both bored and scared at the same time, but she was bored and scared at the same time, so she guessed that meant… Nothing. It meant absolutely nothing.

"I'll see if there's anything for you to do. Or anything for Claudia to do. Or anything for me to do… Well, anything for the three of us to do. The TV's out of the question, it'd wake Drusilla. She needs her sleep," Spike said. Alisa didn't think Claudia needed to be given anything to do. She seemed happy enough just playing with her creepy little doll. She was trying to braid its hair. It didn't seem easy, as the hair on the doll was in tight curls and there was one bald spot. The latter was most likely due to one of Drusilla's temper tantrums. She could do bad things when she was in a mood… Or at any other time.

"The sun is setting," Claudia said, without looking up from the dolls hair.

"Oh, is it? Well, we'd best be going then. Alisa, are you coming with us?" Spike said.

Alisa didn't know what to say. Did she really want to watch her little sister kill someone? And what made her think she could trust this Spike? "Er… I think so," Alisa said.

"So you're coming then? Or not? Listen, if you stay behind, I think Dru'll eat you," Spike said.

Alisa made her mind up quickly."Uh… yeah, I'll come," she said. She followed Spike and Claudia out of the factory. The sun had just passed beyond the horizon, giving everything an eerie orange glow. It was just barely late enough for Spike and Claudia to be outside, but still quite cold.

"So, where are we going?" Alisa asked, looking around. There obviously weren't any people here…

"Well, ordinarily, we'd pick up victims at the Bronze, but not only is Claudia a little young for that, she's also too weak to kill an adult or teenager. No, today we're going to the park," Spike said.

"Right," Alisa said. She knew what he meant. They were going to kill a child, someone about the same age as Claudia… Alisa didn't like the thought of her sister killing a little kid, not one bit. "Can I just, like, go wait somewhere else?" She asked.

Spike shrugged. "Sure, I'm not stopping you. But I'd advise getting away from the factory, the cemetery or any dark alley's. Unless of course, you happen to be a suicidal adrenaline junkie, in which case, go ahead," He walked off, hand in hand with Claudia, who waved to Alisa as she walked away. Alisa waved back.

…

Spike was already sick of the little kid and her sister. Why did Drusilla have to be so… insane? Perhaps normally he'd kill the little girl, but right now, with Drusilla in her frail condition, he couldn't risk it.

"Okay, we're here," He said, having arrived at the children's playground. Claudia smiled and laughed. It was a truly demonic sound; she wasn't the innocent child she'd once been. She now suffered from the lack of a conscience, so she would have no qualms about killing another child. Which was perfectly clear from the way she walked over to the little boy still sitting on the swing. Spike remained hidden from the boy's line of sight where he was standing in the dark.

"You're here late," The little boy said to Claudia.

"Yeah, I know. I like night time. It's pretty," Claudia said. Spike was bored already. Why couldn't she just kill him? Did she really have to waste the rest of all eternity talking to the kid? Spike wondered off, out of the little park. Claudia could take care of herself. He lit a cigarette and leaned against a tree, waiting for the girl. He knew she was going to kill the boy. It was more a matter of how long it would take. He smiled when he heard the scream. It seemed to have taken quite a while, but Claudia had killed the boy after all.

"Spike?" Came her little voice. She didn't know where he was. He walked out of the shadow of the tree, where she could see him more clearly. "There you are!"

"Yeah, here I am. You still hungry?" Spike asked.

Claudia shook her head. "Nope!" She said. "Can we go back to the factory?"

"Well, I think we have to. Drusilla would go nuts if she woke up and we weren't there. Besides, you've hardly been properly introduced to her," Spike said. He picked Claudia up, carrying her on the way to the factory. She must have been tired, for she dozed off on the way there. "Alisa?" Spike called. "You still here?"

"I'm here," Alisa said. She was right beside him, how had he missed her?

"Right, well we're going inside now, going to see Drusilla. Just as a word of warning, she's insane, so try not to make her angry," Spike said. He walked inside, followed by Alisa. The factory was noisier now than it had been. Most of the Master's old minions were awake by now. Spike tried to make sure none of them saw Alisa. He'd just kill her, but he didn't know what Dru would think if he made Claudia upset. He knocked on the door.

"Drusilla, are you awake?" He asked, before walking in anyway. She was sitting on the floor with three dolls – Miss Edith, Molly and Victoria – and some teacups. Only they weren't filled with tea, but rather a thick, red liquid…

"I'm awake. I told Billy to go and fetch me a snack," Drusilla said, not looking up from her 'tea'.

"Well, isn't that grand? I just brought Claudia out to get her first meal. A little boy, he was. We found him in the park," Spike said. Drusilla stood up from the floor, smashing the teacup she'd been sipping from. Alisa tried not to feel sick at the sight of the blood on the floor. It was rather strange how she could watch films with a lot of blood in them, without being bothered a bit, but hated to see the stuff in real life, in large quantities at least.

"My Claudia!" She said, walking over to the girl. She took her out of Spike's arms and held her close. "I missed you," She said. Alisa and Spike both rather doubted that; Claudia had hardly been gone long and Drusilla didn't even know her well.

"Hi!" Claudia said. It seemed that she didn't really know what to think of Drusilla. Maybe she thought she was mad, but no one could be sure what went on in Claudia's mind.

Drusilla set her down on the floor and she picked up a doll – the same one Drusilla had given her the previous night – and began brushing its hair. They seemed to be getting along fine now. Claudia clearly wasn't afraid of Dru any longer, which was good. They were playing together, clearly too preoccupied to notice Spike and Alisa.

"What should I do?" Alisa wondered.

"Go home? Or is that too boring? How about we go for a walk?" Spike said.

"Sure…" Alisa said. She followed Spike out of the factory. "Where exactly are we going?"

"Can't quite say. We're not there yet," Spike said. "So, what are thoughts on this thing with your little sister?"

Alisa thought for a minute. "I don't really know," She admitted. "I mean, I've seen loads of movies about vampires, but I never thought I'd meet one, you know?"

"Well, you're talking to me," Spike said. "I'm pretty sure I thought the same back when I was your age. Except we didn't exactly have television back then, it being the 1860's and all…"

They were entering the cemetery. Alisa had never been here before, but she already thought it seemed pretty weird. It wasn't the way it looked – it looked just like any other cemetery after all, crumbling tombs and mausoleums, a couple of statues, plenty of headstones… There was just something about the way the place _felt. _It wasn't cold or anything, there was just this charge running through the air, so strong it was almost tangible…

"Oh bloody hell!" Spike said. Alisa looked up, wondering what it was that had surprised him. There was a girl standing in front of them, hands on her hips. She was only about an inch taller than Alisa herself, so she didn't have any idea why Spike seemed so grumpy about seeing her.

"Spike. Fancy seeing you here," She said. So apparently they knew each other. "Who's the kid?"

"Her names Alisa," Spike said. "Her, er… her sister was turned by Dru. A new toy,"

Alisa didn't like the sound of her sister being described as a toy.

"And what are you going to do with her?"

Alisa didn't think she wanted to know the answer to that question.

"Oh, I don't know…"

"Because something's telling me you're not going to let her go back home," The girl said.

"And you, being the Slayer, must stop me from killing innocent little girls?" Spike asked.

"What's a Slayer?" Alisa asked.

"A vampire Slayer. One girl in all the world to find the thingy's of evil and kill them," The girl said. "That's me. I'm Buffy, the Vampire Slayer,"

Buffy. Her name was _Buffy. _Somehow, that almost made Alisa laugh.

"That sounds like the title of clichéd movie," Alisa commented. Buffy sighed.

"Let the girl go, Spike," Buffy said.

"And why should I? What makes you think I'm gonna do any bloody little thing you say? I'm not your slave!" Spike said.

Buffy glared. "Oh yeah? What a shame… You know, I always wanted someone to do my homework for me…. She turned to Alisa. "Run," She instructed. Alisa did exactly as she said, almost tripping over several time in her haste. But she didn't go far, just far enough to be safe. She wanted to see what would happen. She knelt down by a gravestone, peeping over the top.

Buffy lunged towards Spike and he dogded her attack, grabbing her by the shoulders and throwing her down. In less than half a second, she was up again, giving Spike a roundhouse kick to the face. He stumbled back, then ducked out of the way as Buffy attempted to punch him, grabbing her fist and pulling her down. She fell to the ground just as Spike was getting to his feet, just in time to block a punch from him, then punch him in the stomach, kocking him over. Suddenly, Alisa yelped and they both turned to her. She had been knocked back by a hand. A grasping, clawing hand, protuding from the grave she was sitting on.

Buffy forgot about Spike for a moment and ran to Alisa, shoving her out of the way. She held her stake firmly and as the vampire got out of its grave, she drove the stake right through its heart. Alisa watched on in surprise as it turned to dust. It was pretty different to how the vampires died in the Lost Boys… She'd have expected at least a little blood or something. But there was nothing but dust to prove that it had been there at all…

"I told you to run," Buffy said. "When I said run, I kinda meant run,"

"Yeah, I know… It's just… My sister, you know?"

"She's not your sister anymore. It's just a demon, wearing her body," Buffy said.

Alisa shook her head. "You're wrong! It's still Claudia! It has to be!"

She didn't want to think of it the way Buffy was saying it. She knew she was different. Claudia had killed that little boy, for gods sake. But her sister was still _there._ She wasn't dead. She couldn't be.

"Come on, Alisa," Spike shouted. Alisa turned abruptly at his voice, dragging her back into reality. "We're leaving, come on!"

Alisa got up and ran. She stopped and looked back at Buffy.

"Thanks for saving my life," she said.

"It's what I do," The vampire slayer replied. Alisa ran over to Spike and the two walked back to the factory.

…

So, I thought this would be the last part, but actually there's going to be one more. Annoying, aren't I? Keep changing things. Anyway, I finally updated. Yay me. I'm spending too much time on my novel…


	7. Drusilla's Soul Part Three

_Drusilla's Soul: Part 3_

Okay, this isn't the final chapter of Drusilla's Soul! I thought it would be, but it's not, okay? I know, I did the same thing with Claudia Part Two…

* * *

><p>Spike<p>

Angel starts turning the car around.

"What the hell are you doing?" I ask him.

"We need to save the little boy," Angel says.

"With no bloody weapons?" He stops the car. "We have to go back to the Hyperion. Maybe we should get Illyria too. She'd love a bit of violence. Always does,"

"Spike," Angel says. "When, exactly, did you start thinking?"

I choose to ignore that statement. This is, after all, sort of an emergency. Angel must think I'm right, because he starts to drive back to the hotel. I glance at Drusilla, curled up on the seat beside me. She has kicked off her shoes – I don't blame her, those heels must be four inches high – and is staring blankly out of the window. No reflection in the glass, though. Of course there wouldn't be. She's a vampire. Just like we are. Just like we have been for almost as long as I can remember… Okay, that's an exaggeration. I do remember my twenty-nine years as a human, even if I wish I didn't.

We drive to the Hyperion Hotel in complete silence. Really, Angel doesn't even put the radio on in the car. By the time we get there, I have to check to make sure my ears are still working. I could swear they're not after spending so long in silence.

Illyria is in her room upstairs – I assume. She's not in the lobby, that's for sure. Angel strides right up to the weapons cabinet and takes … pretty much as many weapons as he can carry. He won't need all of them, I'm sure. While he gets ready, I sit down with Dru, trying to help her. Failing miserably really, but at least I'm trying! Unlike Angel.

He goes upstairs to get Illyria and Drusilla finally speaks again.

"Will you save him? Will you save the little boy?" She whispers to me.

"We'll try," I promise her. "All we can do is try,"

After about five minutes, Angel and Illyria come downstairs. I see Illyria now has an axe. Angel throws me a sword and I catch it, clasping it by the blade and cutting both my hands. I put the sword down on the floor and wipe my bloodied hands on my trousers. They sting, but I really couldn't care less. I lift the sword again – by the handle, this time – and walk over to the car, Drusilla beside me. I don't pretend nothing bad will happen – after all, it's not true, is it? Something bad always happens. Angel and Illyria stride out of the door and Illyria sits down in shotgun. Angel carelessly chucks a bunch of weapons in the boot and sits down in the drivers seat. He starts driving like he's madder than Drusilla after that; he must be breaking a ton of laws – but I can't seem to care. And I know nobody else in this car does. So I don't mention it. None of us do. In fact, none of us say anything, which is rather annoying. You'd think Illyria would demand to know what the hell was going on. Guess not much has been happening lately.

…

Drusilla

…

We're going to save the little boy now. I hope we can. I hope he can stay alive and that disturbs me. I should be the one killing him, not the one trying to save him. I should tear him limb from limb when I find him and I _want_ to. I just… can't. It's like a little voice in the back of my head, that no else can hear, nagging at me, telling me to do anything but kill him… Save him. Help him. But not kill him. Why am I thinking like that? It's the soul, the dirty soul! I want it out! I want it out!

I must have said that last part out loud, because now Spike is holding me in his arms, cradling me, telling me it will be all right, that he'll help me, but he wont, because he can't and… and… and I want to believe him. I really, truly do. But nothings alright, so how can I believe him?

The car jerks to a halt and I'm thrown back in my seat.

"What the bloody hell?" Spike shouts at Angel, who glares back at him. "What just happened?"

Angel holds a finger to his lips and looks out of the car window. He opens the door and leaps out, gesturing for Spike to follow. We, and also Illyria, follow him out. We're standing outside a factory, just like the place we used to live, so many years ago. We lived in lots of factories and they all look the same. I liked the mansion far better. It made me feel like a princess.

"What's going on?" Spike asks. Angel gives no answer. He tosses Spike an axe and walks off with Illyria. Spike stays with me. "Are you alright, love?"

"Yeah," I say. I crinkle my brow in frustration as I try to figure out if that is the real answer. Spike can tell something is wrong. Dropping the axe, he puts his arms around me and whispers in my ear:

"Don't worry. It gets better,"

I can't imagine this ever getting better.

…

Angel

…

I sniff the air, trying to find the scent that stopped me in my tracks. I can't believe Spike didn't notice it, but then, he's so wrapped up in Drusilla he wouln't even notice if a herd of elephants ran past him. I catch the scent on the air and tighten my grip on the axe. I can smell blood. Not a lot, but what's strange about this blood is that it's young. A child. We come to a locked door. Keeping my feet firmly on the ground, I swing the axe and the broken lock falls to the ground, the door ajar. I step inside. It's only then I realise that Spike and Dru aren't here. But I have Illyria with me, which is, truth to be told, more than I need. She's so quiet, it's easy to forget she's there, but she's still stronger than I'll ever be, even in Fred's body… A pang of grief goes through me at the thought of my friend. She's not the only one dead now, of course. Wesley and Gunn both died in the apocalypse brought on by the Senior Partners back in '04.

"Why are you just standing there like that? It is quite irritating," Illyria says. I look at her, confused for a moment, then shake my head, clearing my thoughts.

"Just… daydreaming, I guess…" I say, starting to walk on again. We're walking through a long, winding corridor. I follow my nose; there'd be no other way for me to know where I was going in this maze. Eventually we come to a door. Without drawing a breath, I kick the door open and rush inside. The little boy is running. He's bleeding, but not badly. It's just a shallow wound on his arm, it'll heal. The more important thing to face is the man going after him. He's holding a dagger and there is a magical symbol on the floor. Just like the vision, I think. The boy isn't bleeding much but it might be enough to activate the spell. I don't know what it's for and I don't know how to stop it. All these thought's come to me in a few seconds, long enough for Illyria to have already thrown the man against the wall and stabbed him. He's not human, clearly. Humans don't have green blood. And I should know, I'm a vampire. I used to drink the stuff and it was always red.

I look at the circle. The little boy, in pain from his injured arm, is crying. The blood is trickling down his arm, but not getting on the symbol.

"Run," I say, my voice sounding closer to a growl than I intended it to. The boy ran.

…

Spike

There's a tinny sort of banging noise coming from the entrance of the building.

"It's him," Drusilla said. "It's the little boy. Let him out, Spike,"

"You'll be okay? Won't go even crazier?" I ask, only half joking.

"I'll be fine," She says. I can tell she's lying, at least partly. She can't cope. She's strong physically, but mentally… not quite so much. Not that my mind fared particularly well when I got a soul, but… It still hurts, you know? Just looking at her… Even now, she's everything to me. I walk over to the door and fling it open. The little boy is standing there, looking scared and confused. He trembles and looks around wildly as he tries in vain to make sense of what's going on.

"Go home," I say to him. He just stands there trembling. "Go on, leave!" He runs away, still scared. I wonder for a moment if he'll be able to get home on his own, but the thought leaves my mind quicker than it probably should.

Drusilla has wandered off now. I can see her standing by a recycling bin, fishing through it. I walk to her, putting my hand gently on her shoulder.

"Shouldn't really do that, Dru. You could hurt yourself,"

"But it might be something pretty!" Drusilla protested.

Spike sighed, but smiled inwardly. She was still the same Dru, soul or no soul. She was still facsinated by broken pieces of glass.

* * *

><p>See? I do update stuff. I will never abandon this completely!<p> 


	8. Drusilla's Soul Part Four

**_Spike and Dru_**

**_Drusilla's Soul: Part Four_**

Spike

I lie on my bed, staring at the ceiling. It's quite fascinating, for a ceiling. Lots of stains from water being there. Sometimes it drips. But it is still a ceiling, and therefore completely dull. I sigh, despite lacking the need to breathe. I can't sleep. No matter how hard I try, I can't sleep. For the first time in a good few years, I'm worried out of brains about Drusilla. I want to find out who did this. That's what's confusing. Why would anyone give her a soul just for the heck of it? They wouldn't. There would have to be a reason, surely. But I can't think for the life of me what that might be. Did she kill the wrong person? Probably. That's what Angelus did to get his gypsy curse. I sincerely doubt that Drusilla fell in love with a Slayer, tried to rape her, realised what she'd done and went to get a soul from an African demon… That sounds very unlikely, to say the least.

I hear a knocking on my door.

"Who's there?" I demand.

"It's me," Comes Drusilla's voice. I smile grimly.

"Come in," I say. She walks in and lies down beside me without saying a word. It feels strange lying next to her after all this time apart. She doesn't feel exactly like a stranger, just… different to how it used to feel. I stroke her hair, gently pulling her closer to me.

"Spike," She says. "It hurts," She doesn't look at me and doesn't say any more, but I know exactly what she's talking about.

"I know," I say. "But it gets better. Trust me, it does," I kiss her gently on the forehead and close my eyes. After about half an hour, I finally fall to sleep.

…

I wake up in the morning to the sound of singing coming from a place close to me. It's Drusilla, sitting on the end of the bed, singing a song I remember from a very long time ago.

" 'Early one morning, just as the sun was rising

I heard a young maid sing in the valley below

Oh, don't deceive me

Oh, never leave me

How could you use a poor maiden so?' "

I smile sadly, memories flooding back to me. "Drusilla…"

She turns around and looks right at me, with that same faraway gaze she often gets. "So you're awake then?"

"Of course I am, love." I sit up and hold her close. "Come on, let's go and get breakfast,"

Dru grins at me, then seems to realise what she's thinking and a horrified, guilty expression comes over her face. She starts shaking and in a second it becomes torture to watch. I take her hand and we start walking downstairs.

"I know what the song means to you, you know," she says to me as we walk.

"Do you now?"

"Oh yes!" She says enthusiastically. "I saw it all in my little head. First evil put a trigger in yours. Slayer's son tried to use that to his advantage and nearly got himself killed,"

"It's more than that love," I whisper.

When we get downstairs, I can see that Angel is already awake and enjoying himself brooding. If that sentence makes any sense.

"Hey Peaches," I say, getting some blood out of the fridge. Angel doesn't reply. Just like him of course. "Any leads on what's happened with Dru?"

"Nothing," Angel says. "Nothing at all. It's weird."

I didn't expect him to say anything groundbreaking. I pass Drusilla her blood. She eyes it with distaste, but guzzles it down anyway. I guess she was hungry. I sit down on the couch, putting my feet on the coffee table despite – or perhaps it was because of – Angel's total dislike for me doing that.

"Anything on T.V?" I soon find that there's not. Never is anyway. What's wrong with me? Never would have imagined that if Dru came back I'd be sitting watching T.V.

At the sound of a whimper behind me I turn and run over to Drusilla, catching her when she loses her balance. "Dru? What's happening?" Not that I don't know. It's another vision. I look over at Angel and we seem to be thinking the same thing.

"There's a star… she doesn't know where to turn. And a mean little human trying to catch her…" Drusilla seems quite distressed, but I honestly have no idea what she's going on about. A star? I s'pose she's talking in metaphor. Just typical. While a cryptic message is better than no message at all, it certainly is worse than a straightforward message.

"Okay… Well, what is this person trying to catch her for?" I ask. It's what she says next that makes me wonder what she means even more.

"Experiments," she whispered. Of course my mind immediately went to the Initiative. Drusilla nodded, letting me know that she was aware of my thoughts.

"It's them," She nodded again, staring at me. Staring at my head.

"I'd forgotten about that. It's gone, isn't it? How?"

"It… malfunctioned. They needed to take it out to keep me… here," I can hardly say 'alive'. Because, after all, I'm not. I sigh. Least now I know what we're going to do today.

…

Angel

I watch Spike out of the corner of my eye. I have to say I don't have a clue what they're talking about. What had malfunctioned? I look at Spike. He's got his mobile out and is impatiently waiting for someone to pick up. For fifteen minutes, no one does. He finally gives up and with a roar throws the phone at the wall. Dru whimpers and Spike turns to her. I look away. I don't like seeing them that way. Forget that, I don't like seeing them at all. Just one look reminds me of what I did to them. I made them into monsters, killers. And why? I can't even answer. I must have been insane back then. I treated killing as an art. I still have those thoughts, from time to time. It kills me just to think, but it happens all the same. Yet nowadays I wouldn't dare indulge those desires of mine.

"Angel!" I look around, startled by the loud voice. It's Spike, of course. He looks very frustrated, I notice. "Bloody hell, I have to call you three bloody times before you'll listen! Just wanna tell you, we're going out. Not sure where, but anywhere could be a good start. Wanna help?"

"No," I say immediately. "You don't know anything and neither do I. Do you even have a clue what she's talking about?"

"Not really, but it sounds like something to do with the Initiative. Just a hunch, you know, but experiments? If it's not them, it's something like them and we've got to get there and help. That's what we do, innit? Help the helpless, you said."

"If the Initiative wants them, I doubt they're helpless. We need to wait until we know a bit more than we do now."

Spike growls at me – actually growls, not like a human could – but backs down.

"What do you propose, exactly?"

…

Spike

I can't believe this. Angel thought he had a great idea when he mentioned Caritas. I thought he'd lost the plot, but what the hell. After a few drinks I'd just about been willing to go up there. Well, actually the alcohol had nothing to do with it and it was mostly Dru's begging, but it made no difference. So now I'm standing on the stage about to get my future told by Lorne while standing in front of a whole bar full of people. Not that I'm worried about how I'm going to sound. Just… really shouldn't have come here. I take a deep breath as the music starts.

"Come as you are,

As you were

As I want you to be

As a friend

As a friend

As an old enemy

Take your time, hurry up

Choice is yours don't be late

Take a rest, as a friend

As an old memory…"

…

I sauntered over to Lorne, well aware of the scowl that was plastered on my face.

"So?" I demand. "What did you see?"

"Hey, calm down. So, I see you've got some problems on your hands." I gave him a look, or tried to. Hard to look at people funny when you can never see your own refection, but I try.

"That's an understatement," I say, looking at the empty glass in my hand.

"So Angel told you to come here, then? You don't look so happy," I glared at him. "Drusilla's going to be alright, okay? She'll make it through it all. You and Angel did,"

I look Lorne right in the eye and say, "Angel spent one hundred years feeding off rats. I was insane in a basement. We got over it, yeah. But it wasn't exactly a smooth ride."

Lorne looks down, not speaking. He changes the subject next chance he gets.

"So you're worried about the Initiative?"

I nod, trying to let him know I want him to go on.

"Well, you might wanna give your Slayer friend a call," Lorne says.

I shake my head. "No. Buffy's busy in Europe. I have a few people I could call though. Red would probably come and I bet she'd bring Kennedy. Beck too, she might be useful. But we'd have absolutely no idea what to do…"

"The witch'll help you, don't worry. Just trust that everything's going to be okay,"

I glare at Lorne and storm off. I hear him sigh, barely audible above all the noise in the bar.

I sit down beside Drusilla and Angel. Neither of them had been speaking and I can only imagine how awkward their non-conversation must have been.

"What did he say?" Angel asks.

"Not much," I admit. "Just a bit about Dru, some stuff about me needing to trust that everything would be okay," Of course, I know that stuff is true. I really do need to trust that everything will be all right, because that will probably make me a lot less distracted. Problem is that from where I'm standing, our position ain't looking so hopeful.

* * *

><p>Bit of a boring chapter, I know. Can't be helped, at least there <em>is <em>a chapter. Thank you everyone who's reading for taking your time to read this, or even just skim it and thanks for all the reviews. I apologise for the lack of updates since August. If anyone's interesting, the reason Spike sang the song Come As You Are is because James Marsters sang it at song point... Look it up on YouTube! Sorry if Lorne is out of character, never written him before.


	9. Drusilla's Soul Part Five

**_Spike and Dru_**

_Drusilla 's Soul: Part V _

* * *

><p>Willow<p>

...

When I get the call, I don't have the slightest idea of who it might be, especially calling at this hour. The clock on the bedside table says it is approximately three o' clock in the morning and I'd just got back, hoping to finally get some sleep. I hope it's an emergency.

"Hello?" I whisper into the phone, trying not to wake Kennedy, who sleeps soundly at my side.

"Willow. Hi,"

I recognize that voice instantly.

"Spike!" I say aloud, surprised. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"You make it sound like we're speaking face to face. But anyway, Dru had a vision, we're pretty damn sure it's about the Initiative,"

"The Initiative. Oh God. Should I get Buffy?"

"No. No, don't bother. We can handle it." I can almost hear him mentally adding a 'hopefully' to the end of that sentence. "But I'd apprieciate it if you and your Slayer came to help. Besides, I'm planning on getting Beck to help us, so that means we'll have three vampires, an Old One, a witch, a Slayer and a firestarter. That sound like enough? Bordering on overkill if you ask me."

"Okay. So what exactly did Drusilla see in her vision?"

"I don't quite know. She said something about a star and people trying to catch her for experiments. We'll figure it out eventually I'm sure."

"Right. Well, I'll try to be there. Where are you, The Hyperion?"

"Yep. Though I think I'll start calling it the Overlook. Place gives me the shivers. So yeah, I guess I'll see you later. Bye."

I put down the phone. I feel like shaking Kennedy awake and getting ready to go right this instant. But sleep is good and we both deserve to get some. So I sleep.

…

Spike

I still don't know what I'm going to do. This is hard, trying to decide things. I think very briefly about leaving it to Angel but my thoughts seem to be cordoned off from the part of me that wants to sit back and watch it all happen. I'm sick of being on the sidelines. I want to do something. But right now, every time I try to imagine some clever course of action, my brain just comes up blank. I don't have the slightest clue where to start. I have absoluetely no idea where the Initiative could currently be. They might not even be in LA. Dru's visions aren't always local. Even if they're far away though, I would follow after them. Just to get my sweet revenge. A dish best served cold, apparently. Besides, if they're close at all, they can't stay hidden for long. Someone's got to notice all the demons going missing. Of course they do that all the time, because of Angel and I, but still. We'd know, surely.

I look upwards, towards the ceiling, but it's not really the ceiling I'm looking at. I'm thinking of Drusilla, who's up there all alone in our room. I smile slightly; despite everything going on, with her soul, with the Initiative, it's still amazing to be with her after so long apart. I remember the last time we saw each other, back in Sunnydale. I look on that meeting with nothing but regret. I tried to win the Slayer over and only ended up damaging my relationship with both the women I loved. After over a hundred years together, I had been willing to stake her. If anyone asked me, I'd say I'd rather stake myself, but the scary part is that I'm wondering if that's true after all…

"Spike?" I start, not expecting the voice and baring my fangs at the newcomer. Realising that its only Angel I switch back to my human face and shake my head. What's wrong with me?

"What d'you want?" I ask him, really not in a good mood just now.

"We've got a lead,"

I can't see it myself of course, but I'm sure my face almost literally lights up with that news. "Oh yeah? What's going on?"

"There's a demon who claims to have been kidnapped by a load of humans wearing military gear. That sounds like our guys, right?"

"Definitely," I agree. "So where is he?"

…

Drusilla

I can hear every word of their conversation from the room upstairs. I fear that the floor of this room is rather fragile, but I suppose that this is a very old building. Everything becomes frail as it grows in age, except for us. The cursed ones. We grow stronger with every passing day, even if we wish not to.

As I listen to them, I dislike what they are saying more and more. I can't let them go alone, I can't. Not yet. I don't think this is something we can deal with. I remember what they did to Spike, years ago now. They made him the Slayer's pet. I breathe deeply in an effort to control the emotion swirling inside me. I smile slightly. My inner kaleidascope. I have a whole world inside me that no one else knows. So pretty. Painful, yes, but one of the only things that is truly mine. I've lost so much in my long life… but I can never lose my emotions, my kaleidascope. That will never be stolen from me. Always mine and mine forever.

I rise from the bed and open the door, peering out quietly despite there being no need to. I shake my head at myself, inwardly scolding myself for being so paranoid. I'd know if there was someone here. I'd hear their footsteps on the old, creaky, half –broken floorboards. I continue down the hall, keeping quiet as I can, trying to listen to every word Angel and Spike are saying. They are just walking towards the door when I speak to them.

"Where are you going?" I know already, of course, but I have to say something to get their attention.

"There's this demon," Spike begins. "He says he was kidnapped, probably by the Initiative. Surprised you don't already know, love. What with being psychic and all that,"

I laugh softly. "I knew. I heard everything. I just wanted to see if you'd say it to me."

Spike smiles at me and I smile back in return. I want to run to him and embrace him, cry to him. But I don't. Something stops me. I haven't cried much at all. I wonder if that is strange. I wonder if maybe something is wrong with me, if I'm not reacting as I should. I feel like I'm keeping everything inside, all locked up, but I don't think that's a bad thing. I don't want to show and tell everything about me. Everything that's still mine.

"I'm coming," I say. I don't ask permission, I merely state that I am going with them. I know they want to stop me, but neither of them tries. Spike attempts a smile, but it doesn't seem sincere. He's scared, even if he will never admit it. He gets scared a lot more often than he seems to.

…

Spike

The car drive is silent, tense and more than a little awkward. I try to act normal and tease Angel while simultaneously trying to make sure Dru's alright, which is harder than it used to be, but back then I didn't have all of these problems. Well, I had problems, but they were different. More like angry mobs chasing us down into the sewers because I killed their daughters than anything like this. I used to prefer causing chaos than saving the world and I have to say sometime I wish that was still the case.  
>Angel suddenly slams the brakes, almost giving us whiplash.<br>"Bloody hell Angel! What the fuck was that?"

Angel doesn't say a word. Typical of him I guess. He just walks out of the car, reasonably calmly as well. I leap out after him, almost falling over in my hurry. I catch up to him and then stop in my tracks, staring down at the road.

"What- Who did this?" I'm staring down at the body of a demon and not a pretty one. But it looks even uglier the way its guts are spilling out all around it. "Did you just-"

"No, Spike. It wasn't me." Angel says. I notice a strange tone in his voice and with some amusement I identify it as fear. I shouldn't be so surprised, really. The Initiative kind of scare the shit out of me as well, but I cover it up with all the rage and hatred I feel towards them.

"This is bad. Really, really bad." I'm barely listening to Angel now, but I do wonder what he means.

"Right, so we see a dead demon and suddenly you're acting like a thirteen year old girl? It's not like we don't see death all the time." I begin to walk back to the car, though I can still see the image of that demon haunting me.

"I am not acting like a thirteen year old girl!" Angel yells, maybe a little too defensively. I smirk as I slide into the backseat of the car, next to Drusilla, who is glaring daggers at me.

"That demon was strong, but peaceful. They don't harm humans at all and it would have taken ten men to kill it," Angel explains as he gets into the drivers side. "I can't think why it would be lying dead in the middle of the road, unless there was someone around who hated demons just that much…"

If possible, when we start driving again, it's even tenser than it was before. Beside me Drusilla has taken her shoes off and is sitting with her knees drawn up, buring her face into them. I know she's crying, even though I can't hear her.

"Dru… what's wrong, love?" I ask, moving over to her. But she flinches away, her hair falling limply into her face.

"Don't come near me…" She whimpers.

"Dru… It's okay, you know I wouldn't hurt you…"

She shakes her head vigourously from side to side. "Not what I meant."

Unfortunately I never discover what she means because she doesn't say anything more and I have a sneaking suspicion that whatever I say I can't make her talk. Well, maybe I could, but it would be almost as unpleasant for me as it would be for her. And considering that she likes pain, maybe it would be even worse for me than her.

Thankfully, it's only a matter of minutes before the car pulls up. We all get out of the car, looking around to drink in our surroundings. We're in a forest, that much is for certain. It looks like something out of a fairytale. A river winds like a snake around the thick trunks of ancient, gnarled oaks, the leaves of willow trees swaying gently in the breeze. We begin walking down the side of the river and Drusilla immediately grabs hold of my hand to steady herself. I doubt she needs it, but I'm glad she'd gotten over whatever happened in the car. Looking ahead I see that Angel is far ahead of us, which is confusing considering the soaked, slippery mud that we're walking on. I don't try to walk faster, knowing that he'll wait. When we catch up to him he's leaning against a tree, arms crossed.

"What took you so long?" He questions. I choose not to answer that. He starts walking again and we follow. We've stopped walking along the river and instead we're walking down what seems to be a path, not too slippery and entirely bare of grass due to being very frequently trod. The path is lined by trees on either side which block out all the light of the moon and plunge us into our own dark world. Honestly, it's more like we're going to see a fearie than a demon.

We finally arrive in some sort of clearing where the grass is overgrown and weeds run riot. There are mushrooms down by my feet and I wonder for a minute what kind they are. Just food, or magic mushrooms? That gets me wondering if they are actual _magic _mushrooms, which wouldn't surprise me, when Angel calls to me.

"Spike!" He yells, possibly for the tenth time. I sigh and walk over to him.

"Where are we supposed to go from here? It looks like a bloody dead end!"

Angel glowers and holds his arm up to show that he's holding a chain. He pulls it and something weed-covered rises from the ground. A trapdoor.

"Oh."

We all walk down in a grave silence. I feel like saying something just to annoy Angel, but I feel too… I don't quite know what I'm feeling. Nerves? Anticipation? Fear, even? Or something else? To be honest, I don't care what it is, I just want it to go away.

We reach a door and as Angel is raising his hand to knock, and old woman steps out. Or I first think she is an old woman, but looking closer I see that her face is smooth, unlined. She is very slender, almost skeletal and her white hair – wich I clearly what made me interperet her as being elderly – tumbles down her hips in a violent cascade. Her eyes are blue, but not only her irises. The entire eye, pupil and white, is actually a vibrant electric blue.

"You are the vampires?" She asks, looking over us as if sizing us up. Her gaze lingers on Drusilla the longest and I have to wonder if the two have met before.

"That's right," Angel says. She stares at him for a few very long seconds and I can see him becoming uncomfortable under her unwavering gaze. Wordlessly and almost soundlessly, she opens the door for us all to walk in.

The house – if it can be called that – was cold and dark, but quite pleasant. There were chairs, gathered around an unlit hearth. I sit down and Drusilla perches on my knees, resting her head on my shoulder. I wrap an arms around her and pull her close, stroking her dark hair gently with my other hand. I look back up at the demon woman, who is standing behind the remaining chair, her pale hair falling over the back of it.

"You came here because you wanted to know about the men who tried to kill me." She said. It wasn't a question, but a statement and accordingly none of us answered. Or perhaps we were too scared of her. She wasn't exactly the most terrifying thing in the world – after all, she had to be five foot two, max – but she had a voice and just a general air about her that absolutely commanded that the listener do whatever she said. Authorative.

"They were cowards. Tried to make me weak before attacking. They shot me with their poison and I could stop them, couldn't stop myself… they got me. And then I, I tried to fight, but it wouldn't do any good, because they had me, you see. And they took me, back into their car and I could only lay there. They went a long way and then came to a stop outside an old warehouse. But the poison had worn off now an I could do something. So I broke free… I broke free of the bonds and then ran, leaving them behind. They could have got me if I hadn't hid. But I got back here, perfectly safe, none the worse off at all."

I listen carefully to every word she says. From her phrasing, she seems a little eccentric at times, but she narrates the tale more or less to the point.

"Er… I have a question." I say.

She raises her eyebrows at me, presumeably in a gesture for me to go on and ask whatevener I want.

"Did you see where they took you? I know you hid, but you must have seen something, right?"

"It was a remote place, outside the city. I remember that there was a tree and I think there might have been barbed wire… But it all seems so distant now."

"Right, well… I think we'd best be off, right Angie?"

Angel turns his head to look at me, scowling. I grin back at him. He starts walking to the door and Drusilla, stepping lightly off my lap, quickly follows. I take one last look at the demon woman and then go with them. There was something about the expression on her face, something almost… longing. That's it. She looked like she was longing for someone. But as I close the door behind me, all thoughts of her vanish from my mind, like as long as I'm not around her, I cannot think about her.

…

Willow

Time seems to pass slower when you're waiting for something. It's like that saying about time flying when you're having fun, but backwards. I tap my foot against the floor in a steady rhythm , trying to keep myself occupies. Kennedy gives me that funny look she does when I annoy her, where she sort of scowls and smiles at once. I laugh.

"So, what is all this about?" She asks.

I shrug. "I'm not too sure. Something about the Initiative apparently, which might be trouble."

Kennedy smiles at me. "It won't be touble. You're strong Willow. Remember when you made us all Slayers? That was something."

I attempt a smile of my own, but even I know it looks far too nervous and shaky, not sincere. I'm inwardly thinking about what she just said. I'm strong. I know that, but that's exaclty what I'm scared of. That I'm too strong and I can't control my power. Kennedy might remember when I did the Slayer spell, but I remember back before that when I flayed Warren for killing Tara. I'm terrified that something will go wrong and I'll end up doing that again.

Finally, it's our time to board the plane. I walk silently, listening to Kennedy's comforting rambling. I know what comes now is only more waiting. Waiting until we start to fly, waiting until we touch the ground, waiting until we get to the Hyperion. I sigh. I don't feel in the mood for a ten hour flight and I know that Kennedy doesn't either, but we have to go. We can't leave Spike and Angel to deal with this all alone. And besided, there's something I need to tell them. Something I did.

* * *

><p>Look at that. I said I would update and I did. Even if I did take three months... At least this time there's the excuse that my computer isn't quite cooperating with me.<p> 


	10. Drusilla's Soul Part Six

**_Spike and Dru: Chapter Ten_**

**_Drusilla's Soul: Part Six_**

* * *

><p>Spike<p>

The following day all of us except Ilyria are sitting in the Hyperion's lobby, waiting for Red and her Slayer. Angel's being his usual bright, happy self, constantly complaining about how late the two of them are. Drusilla just seems... vacant and distant. Thinking about something far away from here. 'Course I can't blame her. Why the hell would anyone want to be here when there are about five thousand quadrillion other places to be?

I hear Kennedy's voice growing nearer and then she and Willow are walking through the door. I see Willow pause as if startled and then lock eyes with Dru. Did I forget to tell her she was going to be here? No. I distinctly remember saying 'Dru had a vision'. So why does she seem so surprised to see her here? But she regains her composure quick enough. Maybe she just doesn't like being in a room with so many vampires. Must be it.

"Good, you're finally here. Now Angel will stop complaining about how late you are."

Willow smiles, barely perceptibly, and Angel turns to glare.

"I wasn't complaining." he protests. I don't even bother to say anything back to him.

"Nice flight?" I ask Willow.

She laughs. "Hey, what's with the politeness? Are you possessed?"

"Of course not. And if I was, I think I might know it. Hopefully."

"Have we found out anything about the Initiative yet?" Willow asks.

"Nothing, really. All the leads we got was this demon women living under a forest. Said they took her to an remote old warehouse and there was a tree and barbed wire. That's about all she remembers I think. She said something about poison - sedatives maybe - I guess that could have affected how well she was paying attention to her surroundings." I stand up and stretch, pacing the floor. I'll probably never know why it's so uncomfortable to sit on a chair for so long.

"Remote? What do you think she could have meant by that?" It's Kennedy who speak this time.

"I don't know. She said 'outiside the city' but other than that I have no clue. Could be anywhere, and we don't even know if that's headquaters, do we? I mean, sure, it's a start, but there's not much to go on, is there?" I dig in my pockets for my lighter and light a cigarette, taking a long, slow drag to calm my haywire brain.

"So, warehouse outside the city. Tree, barbed wire. I think I got that. I'll get looking. Probably a pretty wide search though. I'm going out on a limb here and assuming that outside the city also means _near_ the city, so we're obviously not going to be searching for places in like, say... Alaska." Willow says. "So, should we stay here, or go somewhere else? I mean, this is a hotel, right? There must be rooms."

"Just go upstairs. There are four rooms taken and I'm pretty sure they're locked. If not, you can probably tell whose they are by the things in them. Just go upstairs, pick a room." Angel said. Willow and Kennedy did just that, leaving the three of us in the lobby. Angel pretty quickly clears off too. Just me and Dru. I walk over to her, but when I sit on the chair beside her, she gasps and then groans, clutching her head, her sharp fingernails leaving crescent-shaped incisions. I hold her tightly against me, instinctively trying to protect her, even from her own mind. She collects herself, but doesn't try to scramble out of my arms.

"What was that, pet? Another vision?"

Dru nods slowly, dark tendrils of hair escaping from the pins that hold it back to fall into her face. She doesn't say anything immediately and I start to think she's just going to keep it a secret, like maybe her vision's about something bad happening to one of us and she doesn't want to tell me about it in case I might be scared, but she starts describing the vision in a delicate, fearful voice.

"It was her... The star. She's falling... It hurts. What are they doing to her?" Dru groans low in her throat, seeming almost as if she can feel this so-called 'star's pain. She whimpers, that sound she makes when she's about to cry and all I can do is hold her close to me and stroke her hair.

"It's going to be okay." I tell her. I've had to repeat these words to her so many times over the past few days that it seems like they have ceased to hold any meaning whatsoever, but Drusilla seem to become minutely calmer. She lifts her head up and holds my gaze for a very long time. It seems almost like we have a kind of telepathy then, although of course that can't be true. Well, it can be, I guess, but I'm fairly sure we're not having a mental conversation right now. Tears swim in her eyes, but none glisten on her cheeks. I see her mouth, so beautiful, and can't help but press my lips against hers. She kisses me back, wrapping her slender hand around my neck. I can't belive it's been almost fifteen years since we last did this. How did I spend all that time, exactly? Some of it with the Slayer, in what was probably the worst years of her life. And how stupid am I, thinking about the Slayer while kissing Drusilla? That isn't right. I open my mouth, letting myself taste her. I bit my on tongue very hard and feel her gently sucking at the wound. I finally pull away from her after what feels like forever; if I were human I'd be gasping for breath.

"Come on," I say, feeling my mouth stretch into a grin. "Let's go upstairs." Drusilla returns my smile with a hungry grin of her own, her face tilted downwards, throwing it into shadow. It almost appears as if she's wearing bright red lipstick, but I know it's my own cold blood smeared over her mouth.

...

Willow

I almost hadn't expected to see Drusilla here. I know Spike had told me about her on the phone, saying it was her who'd had a vision, but still... I'm probably being stupid. None of them know it was me, so what's the big deal? But that doesn't really help me. Just thinking of how she must have been after I'd cast the spell is enough to give me the shivers. She seemed docile enough earlier, but she might not have been a few days ago. What if they find out it was me? But they have to. I have to tell them. I came here with that intention and I'm not about to just let it go like that. But then I didn't know Drusilla was already with them. I think of the way Spike looks at her... They were together for longer than I'm going to live and I expect him not to be mad at me when I re-ensoul her?

"Will? Aren't you coming to bed?" Kennedy says from where she's propped up among the pillows, reading some book.

"Not right now," I say. I take a deep breath and stand up from my chair. "There's something I've got to do first."

Kennedy raises an eyebrow. "It's three in the morning." she says. As if that means anything when we're living in a hotel full of vampires. "Can't it wait?"

I shake my head. "I have to do it now. I need to tell them everything."

"Wait till morning." Kennedy says. "Besides, whatever is that important is probably a good idea to tell everyone at the same time. Wait until everyone's together."

Kennedy's right. I should do that, I should wait until they're together. That would be sensible. Maybe I should even just wait until all of this is over. But my mind tells me that I can't do that. Morning. I will tell them in the morning, as soon as I wake up. I can't put this off any longer. As soon as I can, I need to tell them that it was me. I gave Drusilla back her soul.

...

The two men in the woods walk at a relatively slow pace, their heavy boots making no sound at all. They passed like ghosts and they knew that they were as invisible. They carried a small girl between them, a girl who was just barely still a child. She seemed asleep, or even dead. They did not worry about her, for they knew - or thought - that she would remain out cold.

She opened her eyes.


	11. Drusilla's Soul Part Seven

**_Spike and Dru_**  
><em>Drusilla's Soul Part Seven<em>

* * *

><p>The girl was running. She could run very fast when she wanted to, like a cheetah. Nobody could ever hope to keep up with her. But she wasn't being chased. Not any more. There was something she'd done... But she didn't want to think about that. She ran faster, trying to cleanse her mind of all thoughts until all that mattered to her was the feel of the wind tangling her hair, the feeling of speed that made her almost think she would be lifted of her feet. But her thoughts still wondered and still came back to the same thing. Those men back there... The ones who had chased her before. She'd done something very bad. She'd hurt them and then they wouldn't wake up. She'd done things like that before, but she wanted it to stop. She wanted it all to stop. So she kept running, as if it were possible to run away from what she'd done. From who she had become.<p>

...

Spike

I wake up when there's still light in the sky, spilling shades of red into the room as if the clouds themselves are bleeding. I sit up on the edge of the bed and look behind me at Drusilla, still sleeping. She looks magnificent, sleeping peacefully like the dead, and I hope that she is really peaceful, that she's forgotten about everything for the time being.

I get up and dress quickly, then head downstairs. Angel, Willow and Kennedy are downstairs already - probably have been for a long time too. Willow and Kennedy seem to be having a telepathic conversation, which is vaguely interesting for a second or two.

"We found any info yet?" I call to Angel, who is boring a hole into the screen of a laptop with his brooding gaze.

"Actually, I think we have a lead." This piques my interest and I walk over to him, frowning. He tilts the laptop towards me so that I can see it. At first I don't understand what I'm seeing. It's a newspaper report of two men who seemed to have been burned alive, although there was no sign of anything catching fire around them. It doesn't seem at all relevant to me until I remember what Drusilla said about the girl the Initiative are looking for.

"She shines like a star..."

"What?" Angel is giving me a strange look. I try to explain.

"Drusilla... That's what she said, about the girl in her vision. She shines like a star. Well, what are stars? They're just fire, right? This girl can control fire, just like Beck. She did this. I bet those two dead guys were Initiative soldiers and they captured her. Sedative doesn't work as well as they'd thought, she wakes up, they die. Simple as that, right?"

"Right. Only problem is, we don't know where she is now. These Initiative guys aren't going to be much use to us when they're dead. They might have had something useful in their possession, but that'll have burned up with them. So we're pretty much back to square one." Angel sighed, shutting down the laptop and putting it away, as if was somehow at fault in this situation.

I hear familiar, dancing footsteps behind me and I turn back to see Dru standing at the foot of the stairs, looking at us as if she is unsure whether she should come over or not. I go to her, all thoughts of the firestarter fleeing my mind as she draws me into her cool embrace and lays her head on my shoulder.

"I'm worried, my Spike," she confides.

"What's worrying you, love?" I ask.

"My star, the goddess of chaos... She's still in danger. She got away, but with no control it will be impossible for her to hide."

"I know, Dru. We're trying to find her. We're going to help."

Drusilla shakes her head. "You can't." she says, but does not elaborate And I don't push her to. She doesn't really want to talk about the girl, or the 'star' as she calls her. She just wants to tell someone how she feels. She doesn't think we can help the girl, but I'll show her we can. The three of us together have enough blood on our hands by now and there's no reason to add to that unnecessarily with this girl. Especially when its the bloody Initiative who's after her. We're all about helping the helpless and we're not just going to let an innocent girl die for no good reason. That's not who we are.

A smile spreads across Dru's face and I realise she could hear every word of what I had just been thinking. She probably thinks that internal monologue was a tad melodramatic and I can't say I disagree. I've spent so much time around Angel, I'm starting to sound like the bastard. But that doesn't make my point any less valid. We will save this girl. I can't allow the Initiative to hurt anyone else, not after what they did to me. I remember when I'd first got the chip in my head. I'd felt so helpless and I don't want to ever feel like that again. And then at the end, when it had begun to malfunction and I'd been in agony every time it fired. This girl couldn't possibly deserve anything like that. No one would, except maybe Hitler or something.

...

Drusilla

I cling to Spike as if it was the end of the world as he tries to comfort me. I hear his thoughts whisper in my mind although I try to block them out. He thinks he can save the girl and I know that he's wrong but I don't try to tell him that again. His mind is made up. I smile slightly, trying to convince myself that maybe he's actually right. And then the world explodes behind my eyes and I fall down, down into nothingness. Everything falls away from me and all I can see is her. So bright, bright like the sun, like the fire... I see her bleed, the blood of the star spread all over the ground, her screaming and their screaming mingling in a horrible symphony... I hear another screaming too and I realise that it's me, I'm screaming at the top of my lungs and my voice is hoarse. I open my eyes and the sensible world that I see is bewildering and disorienting. Spike is holding me close to him tightly, as if it is possible for him to save me from an evil that lives within me.

"What is it, Dru? What's wrong?" His voice is gentle, soothing. I want to let it calm me.

"It's her..." I say. My voice is trembling and I feel as if I will burst into tears at any moment. "The star, she's in danger!"

"It's alright," Spike says to me and I want that to be true so desperately, but I still know that it isn't. Nothing that we want can ever come true, no matter how much we wish it. Or that's how it seems to me.

...

Jana

I stop running finally, gasping for breath. It seems like all the air is gone and I feel like I'm going faint. My legs are like jelly, shaking and weak. It doesn't matter if I stop now anyway. There's no one after me anymore. Guilt rushes over me in a wave as I remember what I did to them. I didn't just hurt them this time. I killed them. For a moment everything in my mind is chaotic, tumultuous. But then it al goes dark and I feel a stinging sensation in my neck.

...

Spike

Me and Dru walk back to the others and the mood is noticeably more somber. Willow walks over to me, her expression like she is walking to her death.

"What's happened?" I ask. The way she looks up at me, it's like she expects me to rip her throat out.

"Spike, there's something I have to tell you. It was me. I'm the one who gave Drusilla back her soul."

The first thing that comes to my mind is that this just can't be right. Why would Willow do that? But then the rage comes.

"How could you do that?" I yell. "How could you possibly think that would be a good idea? You should have seen her a few days ago, in that church... You shouldn't have done that!"

I realise that I'm clenching my fists, and that trickles of cold, dark blood are running down my hands. And also that I just don't care.

"Calm down," Kennedy says from beside Willow, She just came to stand by her and I didn't notice, even though I was looking right at her. Obviously I just wasn't watching them properly.

"Calm down? How can I calm down? This should not have happened! Drusilla is not just some toy for you to play with. Did she want you to do this?"

"She didn't know-"

"Exactly! What right do you have to do something like that? What were you thinking? Were you even thinking?"

I don't notice that I've taken a few steps forward towards Willow until Kennedy steps in front of her and pushes me back. I snarl at her and feel my face change. I lunge towards Kennedy, fangs bared. A hand on my shoulder pulls me back.

"Spike, don't!" Drusilla says. I turn to her and soften immediately.

"Dru..." I begin, but then stop, unsure of what to say.

"The witch has been bad, but she meant to do good. Don't hurt her."

I look at Dru with what I think must be bewilderment. How can she say this? Has she completely forgotten the past few days? I shake my head. "I need to go," I say.

I don't look back at them as I walk away. Once I can no longer even hear them I stop, light a cigarette and take a long drag on it, exhaling smoke into the night that is bright with the glare of street lamps. I can't believe Willow would do something like this. No, wait that's wrong - I _can _believe it, I just don't want to. They always end up doing something like this in the end. They try to be good, they try their god damn hardest... But it doesn't always work out. 'Course I suppose I'm the same really, aren't I?

Most of us probably are...

A scent in the air catches my attention. I sniff again, just to be sure. Blood. Not just a little, either. I put my cigarette out on the wall of a building and then start walking in the direction of the scent. It might be nothing - just a couple of human's in a fight or something maybe - but a gut feeling tells me that it is something. I don't know, maybe I'm just spending so much time with Dru lately that I think I'm psychic too.

...

Drusilla

The witch has been bad. Oh yes, very bad. I remember how she made me feel. In that church, all those people... It came crashing down like some great wave and I knew then that I would perish and drown. But I don't want to hurt her. She wasn't trying to hurt me. I know that, so why is Spike so angry with her? I try to make her feel better, but she doesn't want me to. She still thinks I'm crazy. And maybe I am. I must be musn't I, to feel one minute like everything is alright and the next that the world will end, round and round in a vicious circle...

Or perhaps not. Perhaps it is all of them who are the insane ones. I was always told that I was bad, although I tried my very hardest to be good... Maybe they were the bad ones all along.

...

Jana

My eyes flicker open and I wake up from my dream. The first thing I am aware of is the fact that I am being carried again. The second thing is pain that fills my whole body and my mind, drowning me. I want to cry out, but I can't let them know that I'm awake. So I bite my tongue, and I wait. For the fire.

...

Spike

As I run through alleyways, my feet pounding hard against the pavement, the scent grows stronger. Not just a couple of people in a fight, then. Overhead, there are clouds, obscuring the stars that Drusilla has always loved so much. I carry on, but soon I become aware of another scent combined with the blood. Burning flesh. I break into a sprint, because I can put two and two together and I know what has happened. This little fire starter girl has been caught.


End file.
